Lost Stories of the Last Nomads
by rashatigress
Summary: 'Spirit Moon' revamped and re-titled. Minor changes, corrections, and better chapter breaks. New material begins with 'The Banished Spirit's Tale.' Kataang's adventures after the creation of Republic City. Weaves background and explanations for various ATLA and LoK events and points into the story. Please leave a review and I'll keep writing!
1. Wedding Memories

**Lost Stories of the Last Nomads**

 **Author's Notes:**

 **This is my 'Spirit Moon' story revamped and re-titled. Minor changes, corrections, and better chapter breaks. Totally new material begins with the chapter titled 'The Banished Spirit's Tale' and continues from there. I'm not going to delete the old piece because i don't want to lose the comments.**

 **I got the idea for the belt swapping from Kota Magic and the piece Avatar: the wind on the water. Everything else is of my own creation- except, you know, the whole Avatar universe. That belongs to Bryke.**

 **This is written in the same time/storyline as my other piece 'Avatar Spirit.' I reference it heavily, but you don't necessarily need to read it to understand this.**

 **This starts with Aang and Katara's wedding night… well, their second wedding. It will make sense when you read it. I know their wedding night is overdone, so I didn't go into detail. This will be the story of their life after the creation of Republic City.**

 **Rated M for language and adults have sex. Couples are comfortable with their bodies and sexuality around each other, especially ones that have been together and known each other as long as Aang and Katara have.**

 **Also violence and gore.**

 **(silly author's note, I met my spouse at 14. yes. Young, first love that blossoms from friendship really happens… it's probably why I love Kataang as much as I do because I can relate to them.)**

 **So... welcome newcomers, and welcome back my faithful followers. Enjoy the read! Please leave reviews!**

* * *

 _Wedding Memories_

She was his everything. His mentor, his equal, his partner, his lover, his wife, his best friend.

She was leaning across the railing, overlooking the city they had created together, from the balcony on the island home they had founded. She was bathed in greys and whites in the dim light. The long pale underskirt was hugging her hips and her long wild hair was brushing across her bare lower back. The locks were apparently happy to be free of its strict plaits and dance gently with the breeze. The moon was waning to a quarter empty. Enough light to reflect off the bay and illuminate the surroundings, but not enough to cast strong shadows. A new breeze tugged the wavy brunette tresses around her shoulder, now exposing her entire back, wrapped in bindings that matched her underskirt.

Well, this breeze came from inside of the bungalow, not out of it.

She turned and peered toward the source of the gust of air that blew contrary to the natural breeze. There was a bald and bearded, yet handsome young man leaning shirtless and barefoot against the door frame, devouring her with his stormy grey eyes.

The same eyes she had seen look up at her so hopefully 11 years ago when she found the young man as just a boy, frozen in time in an iceberg. At the time, she too had just been a young girl as well. Two children who would shape history, just like they could shape the clouds.

* * *

The young man thought back for a moment, and his mind was flooded with the events of the past, reliving all of the good and the bad in an instant as only a memory can do.

Now it had been 10 years since the war ended. 10 years of trying to make amends. 10 years of victories and short comings. 10 years of very tentative peace. VERY tentative.

But there was peace. As much as that word may mean. Day to day crime existed. Shit happened. People were cruel and evil to each other as only humans are capable of being. But that was between individuals or small factions.

Not entire nations anymore.

* * *

The United Republic had been created from the ashes of the War- a gathering of colonies that had formed their own unique mingling of nationalities. For thousands of years prior to The War the nations had been at relative peace, but separate. The globe was previously divided in four based on the elemental bending abilities of the races.

Now there was a place where differences were embraced and celebrated.

For a hundred years previously though, the Fire Nation had waged war on the world following the legacy of a megalomaniac dynasty. They wiped out an entire race, and tried to enslave the others. They were finally defeated by the perseverance of a rag tag team of youths comprised of the best elemental benders and warriors from EACH nation. They had strength in their unity and were fueled by their individuality.

The final team that brought down the empire included the dishonored and banished prince of the Fire Nation and his childhood friends turned enemies of the state, the last remaining water bender from the Southern half of the Water Tribe and her swordsman brother, a blind female earth bending prodigy and a non bending skilled female warrior of the Earth Kingdom, and finally the very last surviving member of the Air Nomad race.

The survivor was also the Avatar. He was the only being on the planet that could control all four elements.

The world thought he was their savior, but he would have never succeeded, never survived, without his friends. Every single one of them, like butterflies directing a hurricane, aided him in his success at ending the war.

The world cheered him.

He cheered his friends.

And he cheered the woman before his eyes more than anyone else.

* * *

She smiled softly at the young man back in the doorway of the balcony. His formal robes from earlier had been tossed aside, leaving him in just his dark knee length harem pants. She couldn't help herself as she eyed his broad chest and toned arms lustfully. Not muscle bound or bulky, just strong and fit. No harm in finding your husband attractive. A boyish smirk crossed his face as she saw his silvery eyes make a similar trek across her body.

She cocked her brow at him and turned back out towards the city, knowingly swinging her hips and arching her back ever so slightly while flipping her hair back down her spine. After a decade, she knew exactly how to tease him. She could hear him groan from behind her and she stifled a giggle. His light footsteps were soundless as he sidled up behind her. Strong fingers wrapped around her broad hips and she could feel him melding against her backside.

"Come on, Katara, do you have to be like that?" he whispered in her ear, his trim chinstrap beard tickling her cheek. "It *is* our wedding night." He pressed a hot kiss to her shoulder, biting gently right against the crook of her neck. She moaned slightly and bucked her rear against him reflexively.

"Really, Aang?" she sighed, leaning her head back against his shoulder. He released her neck and nuzzled into her fluffy hair. It still smelled of the jasmine and cinnamon soaps she used early this morning. Before all of the festivities. She spun in his arms and looped her own around his neck. Her hips fit so nicely around his that he could feel himself twitch at the possibilities. "I thought we were married years ago?"

"Well, yeah," he mused, his cheeks blushing at old memories. Even now, after all these years she could still get to him. He rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly. She smirked at his obvious tell. "But today was official-official."

"Today was a stinking joke," she laughed and kissed his rough cheek. The incense from his early morning meditations still clung to his skin. He always smelled faintly of the fragrant smoke and ozone.

"Well, yeah," he repeated, chuckling again. "I liked our first wedding way better. You know I couldn't wait for the finalization of Republic City to marry you." He brushed his knuckles across her cheek, remembering how the crowd giggled and awwed as he kept brushing her hair loopies out of her face during the breezy ceremony earlier. Some servants had painted her up in the latest makeup styles for the occasion, leaving her lovely, but with a sticky gloss on her lips that her hair kept getting trapped in. When the time came, he didn't want to kiss her and smear it. It was honestly the only thing he truly remembered of the whirlwind day. "It's fun marrying you, though."

* * *

The pair had put off marriage for much longer than either of their cultures typically did in order to spend their time focusing on the Harmony Restoration Project. The reparations following the Hundred Year War turned into a decade long process of unifying the nations into a single, new nation. They had put so much effort into the project for so long they had let their personal lives get pushed aside. There never seemed to be a good time for the whole pomp and circumstance of a wedding- which was sure to become a huge to-do. It was destined to be an even bigger celebration than the wedding of Firelord Zuko and Firelady Mae as Avatar Aang and Lady Katara were beloved by most of the world. Because of this, they kept waiting for the finalization of Republic City in order to have the official wedding. It would be the culmination of all of their hard work and a fitting tribute to the unification of the races. Because of this, the couple had just about zero say in what had happened that day.

It had been loud and extravagant. Speeches and rituals jig sawed from each nation into a single ludicrously long ceremony. A day filled with an absurd amount of stuffy nobles from all over the world monopolizing the couple's time in order to rub elbows with the most influential people on the planet. Extravagant feasts with music and servants from every corner of the globe. It was above and beyond anything Aang and Katara wanted. They had given up any control of the events many months ago. They realized the celebration was more for the people of the world than themselves. For the crowds they had smiled and bowed, kissed and danced on cue. Everyone in attendance was so happy. Only their closest friends could see the strain around their eyes and the hear cracks in their voices as they appeased yet another dignitary's request.

At least the Best Man's speech was funny, reliving the glory days. The Maid of Honor's speech was short, blunt, and to the point, just like her.

As far as most of the world knew, the couple had been engaged for nearly five years before today. In reality, and as far as they were concerned, they had already been married for two.

* * *

"Yeah, that little ceremony we had at the Southern Air Temple was much nicer," Katara smiled, picturing the simple, private affair. "Just the six of us like old times- well, plus the Acolytes who were present."

"I'm a simple monk, what can I say." Aang cocked his brow at Katara as he pressed his hips into hers harder, leaning her into the balcony railing. His voice dropped in pitch in an attempt at seduction. "But this time it's just you and me. On our very own private island, in our own private temple. No catcalling from Toph or 'Oogie' screaming from your brother…"

"Oh goodness," Katara laughed, rolling her eyes at her husband. This was old hat for them. "You're ridiculous, you know that, right?"

"What?!" he drew that one word out sarcastically innocent. "It's not my fault that I have a hot wife!"

"Aang, I'm exhausted," Katara huffed, pushing at him a bit. "Today was insane. I thought we talked about this- that none of that 'wedding night' BS mattered. Especially since we've been married for years already… and have been… together… for even longer than that." Her mind tracked back for an instant on a night years ago under a full moon on the Winter Solstice.

"I know…" He flashed a viciously hungry smile that Katara immediately recognized. "Doesn't mean I can't try!"

"Oh no… don't you da-ARE! AANG!" she squealed as she felt his gentle grip on her hips turn into a vice as he effortlessly lifted her and slung her over his shoulder. Katara was no skinny mini- years of training and maturation had left her more muscled and heavier than meets the eye. But age and training had filled Aang's frame as well- and he had always been immensely strong anyways.

Her shriek had been so loud she was sure folks on the mainland would have been able to hear it. She playfully kicked and struggled weakly for a few moments before laughing and hanging slack, defeated. She propped her face up on one hand and tapped slender fingers of the other along his spinal tattoo line. She summoned some nearby water and energized it, sliding the liquid through her fingers along the blue mark. She trailed her touch down past his waistband to just above his cleave where the tattoo split. This drew a shudder from him as she knew it would. He gave her ass a playful slap in response, laughing.

"We had a long day, and have an even longer one tomorrow," she whined. He could feel her breasts bobbing against his back even though she was still wearing her bindings. He added a little more bounce to his step for good measure.

"I can't carry my wonderful wife to our bed so she can rest?" he chided as they entered their bedroom.

"You are sooooo full of it," she mocked and laughed again. He unceremoniously slung her down onto their bed. They were years past tentative and gentle romance. No cradling her and carrying her gently over the threshold for them.

He crawled his way up the bed and held himself up over her. He slid her legs apart with his knees, nestling himself comfortably against her center. His fingers trailed up her sides, dipping between each rib and along her arms up to her wrists, pinning her down. Her sky blue eyes shimmered with anticipation and lust, ignoring her own protests and earlier decision to just sleep.

"I'd rather you be full of it," he purred before sealing his mouth to hers.

* * *

Early the next morning, Aang was tightening down the straps on the giant sky bison's saddle and horn reigns while Katara was finishing packing their meager supplies. The black and white flying lemur was more grey and white now, curled up on the bison's rump. He was getting fairly old for a lemur, but still had some good years left in him. It was a pleasant spring morning on Air Temple Island as The Avatar and his wife prepared for their long awaited honeymoon. Construction of the buildings on the island had actually wrapped up only a few weeks prior, just like many of the final agreements and treaties for Republic City had just recently been finalized.

Aang glanced back toward the bungalow and caught sight of his wife as she was finishing brushstrokes on something she was writing. Her hair was more free flowing than her typical single tight braid, just half tied back. Something else was different about her hair, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. She wore her traditional blue travel dress and sported her long black finger-less riding gloves. A yellow sash was tied around her waist instead of her blue one. She looked serious and ready for battle. Exactly the way he knew she would always look.

He loved that about her, so full of spirit and fire. Serious while he was playful- but ready to be jovial with him at a moment's notice. Making her giggle and laugh and break out of her stoic disposition was one of his favorite pastimes. He could feel his face making a dopey, doe-eyed expression and couldn't help it.

She peered out through the open window and put her writing brush down. She had been leaving extra instructions for her water bending students in case they stopped by while she was gone. She had fully prepared them for her absence, but still wanted to cover every possible angle. Her eyes locked with his and she saw his goofy grin as he leaned into the shaggy white fur of their animal companion. Simple orange and yellow sashes slung asymmetrically over one shoulder and tucked into his bright blue belt. She covered her laugh with her hand and waved when she saw her husband shake his head and cheeks turn rosy, realizing he had been caught staring. He lost his balance a bit and slid off the bison's leg, just barely catching his footing in time with the aid of a gust of air. He tugged at the blue sash subconsciously, just like she would when encountering lustful thoughts. Even after a night of intense passion, silly little things would still make him flush.

* * *

Years ago they had accidentally swapped belts in a frantic dash for clothing after they had heard Sokka loudly approaching their tent one morning. The waterbender's brother knew exactly what had been going on for some time between his sister and best friend- which was why he was being so noisy. He enjoyed torturing them into thinking he disapproved of their actions and was being over protective. On the contrary- he really didn't care and would have been hypocritical to have said anything otherwise. They were old enough to make whatever decisions they wanted with each other. He had at their age. As long as no one got hurt –or pregnant- who was he to judge?

They had taken to sharing a tent some time after the war, and sharing a bedroll shortly after Aang had turned 16. When they tumbled out of their tent that morning, mumbling their typical denials of any amorous or scandalous acts, Sokka had eyeballed their belts hard and gave them squirrely looks, but said nothing. Just glared at them for about ten minutes until they figured it out. The look of terror and utter mortification on their faces when they realized that the owl-cat was out of the bag was worth it. Before they could babble some kind of lame explanation, Sokka was doubled over with laughter, unable to catch his breath as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

"What's so damn funny, Sokka?" Katara had demanded angrily of her brother. "Are you going to give me some lecture on purity and virtue now?"

"Oh can it Sugar Queen," Toph had shouted from inside her earth tent. "Sokka's been fucking with you two for months. Everyone knows you two haven't been 'pure' in a long time!"

Aang and Katara had gasped in shock- hadn't they been discrete enough?

"Is… is that true, Sokka?" Aang had tentatively stammered. He was more embarrassed than his lover by far. "You've known…and haven't said anything? Aren't you mad or something?"

"Mad? Bwahahahaha!" Sokka had finally caught his breath and looked up at Aang- actually up as Aang had grown so much that he was taller than the other young man. He put a firm hand on his friend's shoulder, wiping away a tear with the other. "What's there to be mad about? Suki and I were doing the same before the War ended! I'm just sad that I can't pretend to be hating you for touching my sister anymore. Blue is a good color on you, buddy." He laughed, flicking the trailing ends of the sash and then glared at him hard before continuing, "Just don't get her knocked up and no major public oogies. I draw the line there."

The swapped belts stuck as an inside joke among the friends.

* * *

"What'chya looking at, Aang?" Katara asked, carrying a pack on her back and another full basket against her hip.

"Just you," he admitted and reached out to run his thumb along her yellow sash. "Yellow's a good color on you."

She set the supplies down and hooked her own fingers into his belt and leaned into his embrace. She stood tiptoe to whisper in his ear.

"And blue was a good color on the bedroom floor last night," she purred before running her tongue along his throat. He grasped her chin in his hand and brought her mouth hungrily to his own, tongues sliding past each other and gasps muffled by choppy breathing. They fell against the shaggy leg of the bison.

Appa groaned in displeasure, shaking them from their reprieve, laughing.

"I know, I know, buddy," Aang conceeded, patting his old friend's flank. "Too much oogies, right? Thanks for being Sokka."

Katara snaked her hand around Aang's hips and cupped his tight rear in a little squeeze. She rocked her hips into his again as he could feel a growing need taking control of his senses.

"We'll never get out of here at this rate," he growled at her, clinging to her hips as well.

"It's your fault," she teased, curling into his chest and running her fingers along his exposed pectoral.

"Mine?!" he replied incredulously. "How so?"

"You started it last night," she smirked. "I had planned on just going to bed."

"Oh come on…"

She pecked his cheek with a devious grin and slid out of his grasp. "I have a few more bags to bring out, then we should be ready to go." She headed back into the bungalow and called over her shoulder. "Need some cold weather clothing. Who knows where we might end up!"

Aang just slumped and hung his head, arms drooping to his sides.

"Cold weather my ass," he grumbled and scowled, turning back to his task of loading the bags. "I'm gonna need a cold shower now."

* * *

In no time at all they were soaring through the sky and away from the only place they would call their home. They were finally getting the chance to spend some time as nomads again. They had crisscrossed the globe a hundred times over the years, rarely staying in one place more than a few weeks. But the last several years they had been bound to Republic City and now Air Temple Island would become a permanent dwelling for them in between other adventures and duties.

The pair was cuddled up close for warmth on Appa's head, peacefully observing the world below.

"I still can't believe we're getting away," Katara noted, tracing her dark fingertips along the blue arrow on the back of her husband's hand.

"Republic City has to survive on its own," Aang replied, concentrating hard on what their absence might mean for the new city. "If I'm there to worry about every minute issue, the city will fall. Everything we've worked so hard for will crumble. We've done everything we can to unite the people. It's time to take the training wheels off. The WORLD needs me. Not just one city-nation."

"I need you too," Katara whispered to herself, hugging tight to her knees, ashamed of her selfishness. The blind earth bender had taught the Avatar to listen so well that he heard her murmur before it was captured by the rushing wind. Aang slid his arm around Katara's waist and planted a gentle kiss on her temple.

"I know, sweetie," he sighed into her fluffy hair. "You have no idea how much I need you too. The whole world is blind to how much it needs you. Zuko had said once that I was the real hero. He was wrong. You have always been the real hero. You and only you. None of this would have ever happened without you being there for me at every single turn."

"You really think so?" She turned her face away from the distant horizon and looked into his deep loving eyes.

"I know so." He instinctively reached his hand to brush a hair loopy from her face. But it wasn't there. In all the years he had known her, the only time she had been without them was when they were hiding out in the Fire Nation. The beads were gone and the tendrils that had usually formed the loops were lost in the rest of the chocolate mane that was tied back in a half braid.

"Katara!" he exclaimed in shock, "Where are your hair loopies?!"

"Oh sweetie! You haven't forgotten that we're married now, have you?" she teased, dipping her fingertips under his robe and caressing along his bare skin. "I'm not a maiden anymore…"

"Oh man! That's right!" he remarked, smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead. "You told me so long ago that I completely forgot that's why you wore them. Only unmarried women have hair loops. I guess it wouldn't really be fair to say I miss them, then, would it?" He leered suggestively at her, but then raised his brow in thought. "But what are you going to do with the beads now? They were such a big part of your personal style. I loved them."

"Actually… it's kind of up to you now," she cringed awkwardly. "When a woman gets married she takes the beads from her hair and gives them to her husband. He takes them and braids them into his own hair and wears them until the day he dies. It's actually part of the wedding ceremony." She reached into the small leather pouch on her belt and pulled her clenched fist out. She uncurled her fingers, revealing the sky blue beads. She held them out for Aang and he opened his own hand. She dropped the precious beads into his palm before continuing.

"If a woman is widowed, her beads are buried with her husband and she makes a new pair and wears them until she takes another husband if she chooses. If a man becomes a widower. He never removes the first beads if he remarries and just adds the second set because the first wife could never be replaced. That's why my father never removed his. I didn't include the bead ritual in our ceremony at the Southern Air Temple because if I went out in public without the beads it would have been pretty obvious to anyone that we were married- well obvious to anyone from the Water Tribe. And I skipped it this time because…well… it's not like you have any hair to wear the beads in." She bit her lip, thinking on the repercussions of what she had just admitted.

"Oh…" he mumbled sadly. He closed the fingers around the beads into a fist and rapped the knuckles against his lips in contemplation as well. He turned his face away from her.

"Don't be sad, sweetie!" she requested tenderly. She slid her hand along his scratchy jaw and turned his face back to meet her watery vision. Her eyes were so full of warmth and understanding that his heart nearly broke. "It's okay. We have totally different cultures. I completely respect everything about your traditions and your way of life. I would never ask you to do something at odds with your heritage."

"Oh Katara…" his face softened and he smiled. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into her touch. He covered her hand against his cheek with his own hand and held it tight against his face, enjoying its comforting warmth. "I know that. You sacrifice so much of your own heritage to appease me that I never get the chance to return the favor. You're too good to me. You don't even tell me ways I can honor you as well." He let go of her hand and took her cheek in return, pulling her sweet face to his own. "I don't know how yet, but with your permission, I would like to wear your beads."

He pulled her into a soft chaste kiss. He could feel her energy rising to meet his from deep within her soul. At particularly strong spiritual times of the year they could feel each other's spirits. Like the solstices or equinoxes. There was nothing particularly special about this afternoon but he could feel her anyways. Maybe it had something to do with her beads. He ran his tongue along her lip searching to deepen the kiss. She eagerly obliged, granting him access to her waiting mouth.

His energy crashed into hers like a tempest against the ocean. They were two halves of the same whole and sometimes when they met, the energy they created was astounding. It felt like lightening was dancing across their skin.

"Mraaaaw!" Appa groaned at them. They were sitting directly on his head making out like teenagers again with no regard for the giant beast. They laughed and parted.

"Sorry, buddy," Aang laughed, scrambling for the fallen horn reigns and scratching his faithful companion's head, "That was rude of us. I know, you have to remind us sometimes."

"Hrmph," He huffed at them. Momo just chattered from the back of the saddle. He never cared much what his humans did as long as there was food involved at some point.

"Aw, Appa," Katara leaned down and hugged at his huge neck. He smelled distinctly of animal. Hay and musk and fur. She knew they would all share the pungent odor by the time they reached their destination. "We owe you a bushel of moon peaches for that."

"Mrrrrrr," he responded appreciatively. Momo jumped onto her back, chittering up an angry storm. Aang plucked the primate off his wife's back and cradled him like a baby.

"You too, old monkey," Aang said, appeasing the lemur. He apparently accepted the offering and bounced back into the saddle. Aang looked back out across the horizon and moaned. "Aw crap. Are we off course?"

"I'm not sure," Katara replied, shielding her eyes and squinting into the distance. "I'd have to check the maps back in the saddle. But I'm not about to try climbing back there while we're in mid air."

A devious smirk crossed Aang's face and he tightened his grip around Katara's waist. She realized what he was doing an instant too late as he scooped a pocket of air underneath them and flung himself into the sky while holding onto his wife. Appa was well trained for times like this and just kept a steady trajectory.

"AANG!"

It was only a moment of free fall, and Katara was used to these kinds of antics, but her heart was still thrown into her stomach every single time. Her face was buried in his robes, her ragged breath tickling across his chest.

"You know I do that just to make you make *that* noise," he giggled against her neck before releasing her. "You knew that was coming…"

"Ass," she scoffed, pushing away from him and pawing through the gear on her hands and knees. The wind whipped her long travel dress aside revealing nothing but the tight black legging hugging her shapely rear.

"I agree! It is quite a nice one," he mused. She shot a dirty look back at him. He held his hands up in surrender. "What? I didn't do that, it was just the wind that time, I promise!"

She sat back up with the map rolled up in her fist. Her sky blue eyes ticked up at a cloud above them and she twirled her fingers. Aang had just enough time to look shocked before a miniature rainstorm splashed down on him. It was just a few degrees above freezing.

"GAH! 'TARA!" he shrieked before laughing and shaking the water off his body. "Yeah. I deserved that."

He crawled up next to Katara as she smoothed the map out in the middle of the saddle. He wrapped an arm around her torso and rubbed his smooth head against her brow. She curled into his embrace automatically. Ever since the pair had met, they had always touched each other constantly, innocently or not. It had all started so innocently. Hugs, cheek kisses, shared meals, adjacent bed rolls… until it grew into something more all those years ago.

"Well, we're heading for a remote Fire Nation forest off the north western edge of Sun Sei, the Gufeng Valley. I have reports that the area is restricted for some reason. No one goes there, and no one knows why." Aang's tongue was poking out the side of his mouth while he thought. "Now… we crossed the sea and are in Fire Nation territory …"

Katara sat up and looked around for landmarks. The Fire Nation's Eastern Volcano could be seen in the distance. To the north.

"Hey!" Katara quipped, shaking Aang's shoulder and pointing. "There's the Eastern Volcano."

"Monkey Feathers," Aang grumbled, "We're on the wrong side of the mountain range. We got pushed waaay too far south. Oh well. Now's as good a time as any to find camp for the night then. We didn't give anyone a time table for when we'd reach our destinations. Most don't even know we're coming. And I'd rather keep it that way. In, out, quiet. Only dealing with people if we have to."

"What a honeymoon," Katara feigned disgruntled, hands on her hips, "traveling the globe solving problems…"

"Yep, sounds about right," Aang laughed as he rolled the map up and slid it back into a bag. He kissed her forehead then lightly hopped back to Appa's head and guided him in the correct direction. "We accomplished the goal of unifying the nations. Something about that feels really good…and final. Like a mission that was destined for us to finish, Genjin. But there's always Avatar work that needs done. This time we're balancing spirits not humans. It's too long overdue. It's a Spirit Moon! I promise we can still share mead after appeasing said Spirits," he finally laughed trying to brighten his wife's demeanor.

"Yeah, I know." Katara slumped over the front of the saddle, absentmindedly petting Momo. "Heh heh, Genjin…" After a Spirit World journey the couple had accidentally taken years ago, Aang had insisted on calling Katara 'Genjin' from time to time whenever they were discussing particularly serious Avatar responsibilities. They had no idea why, so it became and personal joke and term of endearment between them. "The War really upset the natural balance in the world. We've been putting out fires for ten years." She grimaced. "No pun intended."

"Every time we encounter an angry spirit, I end up fighting with it and just making things worse," his shoulders slumped at all the memories- Koh, Wan Shi Tong, Old Iron, Mother of Faces and her Wolf. "I'm the great bridge or whatever and all I ever do is appease the human side of any conflict. I need to be impartial and right things. The only spirits I ever encountered without just leaving them more angry are Tui and La and Hei Bai- and even him I fought with at first. Oh and the Kemurikage…" he shuddred remebering THOSE creepy child-stealing spirits.

"Hey!" Katara interjected, "What about the Painted Lady?"

Aang glanced back and smiled, remembering how Katara looked so pretty impersonating that spirit. He even told her so. At that time he would have NEVER said that to Katara's face. It was a miracle he didn't die of embarrassment when he realized it was actually her the whole time.

"Yeah, but that was you who she thanked, not me," he admitted sheepishly. "I never even met her. I should have realized that she was around sooner. Anyway. I gathered reports on places that are known to be spiritually connected, but have been wrecked. I want to try and help those places like we did in Jan Hui. Restore balance, without a fight."

"Aang?"

"Hmm?"

"What if there is a fight…?" This was something Katara had been worried about ever since they decided to delve into this side of the Avatar's duties.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there…" Aang sighed.

"What if the humans are in the wrong?" Katara continued tentatively.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Aang bit back grimly as he steered Appa down toward the earth to make camp. "It's not like we haven't taken drastic measures before…"

Aang prided himself on being a pacifist and trying to solve conflicts without violence. But they weren't naïve; they both knew they had killed many people during the war when they were young. They didn't talk about it, but blowing up mountain sides, creating avalanches, sinking ships, or crashing war balloons and tanks left people dead. It had never been for revenge; people die in war.

"No more talk of what if's. Let's make camp, enjoy ourselves tonight, and solve some problems tomorrow!" Aang chirped up again, wiping away his worries, looking forward to their near future with hope.

* * *

 **If this is your first time reading my tale, thank you so much for sticking it out until the end of the first chapter! I love reviews and respond to all messages! Sometimes they make their way into my writings! Come follow along on Aang and Katara's journey to heal a wounded valley in the next few chapters. Faithful followers, let me know what you think of the different chapter breaks and minor edits!**


	2. The Gufeng Valley

**New readers! Thanks for continuing! Introduction to the valley that needs healed. Please R &R!**

* * *

 _The Gufeng Valley_

Mid day settled hot and muggy over the Fire Nation mountain range. It was always hot in the Fire Nation, laying right along the equator. Even along the northernmost ridge, flying high in the atmosphere, the South Pole native found herself tugging at her clothing uncomfortably. The peaks of the mountains were poking out through a dense fog of what appeared to be low hanging clouds. The high sunlight bounced off them and scattered into every shade of the rainbow. Villages dotted the landscape at the foothills of the mountains. The whole scene was quite peaceful. The fog seemed to be most concentrated inside the ring of mountains, just spilling out from between the peaks.

"I wonder what might be wrong with the Gufeng Valley?" Katara inquired. She was in the back saddle reading the maps to make sure they stayed on target today. "This place is beautiful!"

"It might look it from up here," Aang guessed, searching for evidence of spiritual or natural mishaps, "but who knows what it's like down in the valley past that fog."

It didn't take long to discover what the problem was. They reached the edges of the misty fog and were assaulted by the thick gas. They could barely breathe and their lungs began to burn as they started coughing.

"It's all smog!" Katara choked out. Her eyes were stinging from the noxious fumes trapped in the clouds. She grabbed a cloth and tied it around her face in hopes of blocking out the toxins. The unnatural chemicals were actually what was causing the beautiful colors they had seen from the refracted sunlight. The flying bison was having even greater difficulty breathing and was already starting to go down. His breath was ragged and he was bucking wildly as he was hacking through the smog. Momo hid, wedged between the sacks and baskets of gear.

"Hang on buddy! Katara! Get up here and wrangle him!" Aang called back to his wife. Not being an air bender made shuffling between reigns and saddle immensely dangerous- a task compounded by the convulsing bison. He turned back to the water bender and with a flick of his wrist he seized control of the liquid in the water skin at her hip. He snaked the water out of it and wrapped it around her torso like a rope to steady her as she clambered out of the saddle and towards her husband. "I got you!" he gasped, grabbing onto her and returning her water to the skin.

"Thanks! And I got him!" Katara struggled with trying to calm Appa.

Aang jumped nimbly to the peak of the saddle and swirled the air around them into a giant protective sphere. The spinning winds kept the smog at bay and cleared the air enough for breathing. He was balancing and concentrating hard, holding his hands outstretched to maintain control of the rolling ball of air. But Appa was still having difficulties and was losing altitude fast. They were heading straight for the side of the mountain range.

"Keep steady, Appa! We gotta get over the ridge!" Katara yelled to the ill beast. "Aang! I have an idea! Keep up your bending. Don't worry about me."

Aang looked over just in time to watch in horror as his wife dove off their shaggy companion and into the smoggy void.

"KATARA!" he screamed, helpless as they continued to careen towards the looming wall of mountain. His vision flared as Aang fearfully slipped into the Avatar State. The power of the Avatar State would allow him to keep the protective windscreen around them without sacrificing all of his concentration on that one action. He had to save Katara!

Then he saw that the horn reigns had been cut on one side.

He trusted her and knew he had to let her go.

* * *

Appa was hurt on the inside. The toxic fumes had gotten into his lungs and were shutting them down. Thinking quickly, Katara used her water to slice off the rope on one side of the horn reigns. She tied the rope around her waist and froze the knot to make sure it stayed before jumping. Her weight pulled Appa unevenly off course, but there was nothing else she could do in that moment. Off course was better than into the side of a mountain. She fell between the bison's rows of legs and slammed against his segmented underbelly.

Katara pulled more water from the leather ballast and energized it. The glow coated her hands as she blocked out her panic. She closed her eyes and felt into the beast with her healing abilities. She could sense his strained lungs and thrashing suffocating heart. She could see the heavy contaminants coating the lining of Appa's lungs and felt an angry energy within him. She reached for the moisture inside the delicate air sacs. She used that to push the foreign substance out and Appa was able to cough the rest out. She used the therapeutic waters to penetrate the injury, soothing and healing the damaged tissue.

Within moments Appa was breathing steady again. He regained control and pumped his huge flat tail and soared up and away from the looming crag. The weight of the woman hanging onto the one sided rope was pulling him sideways, but they were out of danger. They were still in the thick smog but were able to clear the summit of the mountain range.

Katara slowly and laboriously climbed back up the rope and pulled herself up the side of the animal's thick neck. Aang was there, extending his glowing tattooed arm out to her to pull her up the rest of the way. The other was raised to maintain the airshield.

"That was amazing, Katara!" Aang gasped, pulling her into one of the tightest hugs ever. He trusted her insane risk, but that didn't change the fact that she had terrified him. She could feel his heart thumping wildly against his ribs as she melted into his arms. "You saved Appa. You saved us."

"Heh heh heh," she weekly laughed as the adrenaline rush was seeping away her remaining strength. "You were able to clear the air for me to be able to, Glo-Boy. I think it was a team effort." She ran her hand over his bright forearm. She could feel the energy tingling between their skin as it dissipated. Without being distracted by threat of death, Aang was able to keep the air shield steady by his own volition, and without needing the Avatar State.

Katara sat in front of Aang as he maintained the bubble. She curled between his straddled legs and attempted to give Appa some direction just through touch as his cut reigns hung out of reach.

"Think you can get us to the valley floor on your own, Buddy?" Katara patted the bison's head. "Hopefully this clears."

Appa grunted a positive response. They slowly made their descent.

* * *

The air didn't clear. If anything, it became worse. Inside the mountain range was more like a bowl, trapping the pollution, poisoning everything. There was no outlet for it. The land was desolate. No animals, no plants for leagues.

"Well, now we know what's wrong out here," Aang murmured sadly gazing out at the bleak landscape. Katara glanced over at her husband. Sweat was beading on his brow and his chest was slick. He was wearing out, trying to keep the air clear for them.

"Sweetie, we need to find a place to land," she took the edge of her dress and wiped his head with it. He smiled thankfully at her touch. "No matter how terrible this looks. Even you can't keep this up forever. Once we touch down, Appa won't be breathing as hard, so he won't be poisoning himself…as fast…" She frowned. It wasn't the best idea, but they didn't have any other options besides abandoning their mission.

"Yeah…I know…" His shoulders slumped. "I don't like it, but we don't have any other choice."

Appa landed heavily on the barren ground, crunching beneath his feet and kicking up dust. Aang took one last breath before dropping the shield. The smog rolled slowly back into the empty space.

"That's not so bad now that we're not breathing as heavy," Katara said as she hopped down from Appa. She scowled at the ground under her feet and searched the air for any signs of moisture. "Ug. This place is as bad as a desert. This smog is more smoke than fog. I can't bend anything."

Something more than just the pollution was pulling at Aang, creeping into his mind like another cloud. Aang tried to hold it in, but he started hacking anyway. He couldn't catch his breath after all of the exertion. His vision started to fade and he grew lightheaded at the lack of oxygen and sheer exhaustion. The last thing he saw was oddly enough butterfly wings. He didn't even feel himself fall from Appa's neck.

* * *

Katara saw Aang start to sway as he was coughing and immediately readied herself to catch him. He was probably the fastest person on the planet, but even he couldn't evade the need to breathe. For a moment an odd breeze pushed through the mist and Katara thought she could see something moving in it, but was more concerned with the rapidly deteriorating health of her husband. When he lost consciousness she was right there for him.

She was able to guide him gently to the ground, but it was a struggle now that he outweighed her by easily fifty pounds. She bent the remaining bit of water out of her ballast and felt along his air ways with it. There was more than just the smog constricting him. Some foreign energy had crept in as well.

"Oh man. I think we found the angry spirit, sweetie," she whispered to him. She looked around. She needed more water and shelter. Appa looked forlorn and Momo was peering down at them from the saddle worried. "Come on boys, we need to move."

She grunted as she lifted her helpless husband onto Appa's tail and coughed a bit herself from the heavy breathing. "This is no good," she thought to herself, "I can't go down too or we're dead…" she pulled the cloth over her nose and mouth again. She thought for a bit on her healing training from the North Pole and wished she had paid more attention. She wanted to fight more than heal, so most of her healing had been experimental and on the fly. Well… she had been able to bring Aang back from the dead, so she must be doing something right. She sat next to her husband and placed a hand over his heart. It was pounding against his ribs, fighting the lack of clean air. She took a meditative pose and thought. Could she shield herself so she could press on?

'I am a water bender… Aang tells me all the time I'm the greatest waterbender … but I'm out of water…My body is mostly water…I am a bloodbender, even though it isn't a full moon…'

She felt inside herself for her own water and concentrated on her healing energy. She searched inside for the blood pumping from her heart and flowing through her own veins. She visualized the moisture inside of her lungs and focused on pushing her energy and life force into that water. Instantly, she could feel the weight lifting from her chest and windpipe and she breathed easier. She could feel a protective barrier form inside her lungs. It felt like the arctic air inside her chest, but she wasn't coughing.

"Maybe you are a master waterbender after all, Katara," she said aloud, congratulating herself. Toph was known for her pride and often touted her own accomplishments; Katara was much more modest and humble. She looked back down at Aang, still unconscious. She couldn't do the same for him- the barrier wouldn't keep. The energy had to come from within to do that. "Hang on, sweetie." And she started to lead Appa through the inhospitable landscape, pushing her waterbending energy and focus out ahead of her, searching.

* * *

It took about an hour of Katara acting as a living divining rod in order to find the stream. It was murky and torpid and full of dense sludge. But it was there, and it had plenty of water. Nothing was living in or around it. She tried touching the water and it burned against her skin. If she wanted to use this water she'd have to separate it from the acrid pollution.

She followed along it for a ways, hoping to stumble across some sort of shelter, and thankfully wasn't disappointed. There were plenty of rocky outcrops and formations in the valley and soon she found a cave a short distance from the stream. It was deep and cool, but still thick with the low hanging smog. Katara shuffled Aang off of Appa's tail and cradled him gently, kissing his arrowed head.

"I'll figure this out, sweetie." She looked around the cave. It was big enough and deep enough for Appa to fit in as well. She bit against her lip and then talked soothingly to the giant beast. "Appa, I know you don't like caves, but the air out here isn't fit for us to be in right now. I need your help. Can you airbend the smog out of the cave? Can you stay in here with us?"

The sky bison grunted in disgust at the proposition, but the lemur jumped up on his head, chittering angrily at him. He roared back his apparent opposition, but begrudgingly entered the cave.

"Thank you, Appa," Katara said sweetly to him. He went into the crevice as far as he could before his nerves gave out and began pumping his tail up and down. Katara grasped her husband tightly as the bison created a gale force wind that blew all of the air from the cave. The air from deep within was dank and stale, but at least it was free of the smog. "Great work, boy! Now keep it up! Keep this clear long enough for me to seal it!"

Slowly Katara summoned just the water from the stream, leaving the toxins and sludge behind. It was a much more difficult task than it had been at the river village of Jan Hui because she was the only one bending. Before, she had Toph and Aang helping pull the water and the earthy mire apart in the river. Carefully she created an ice basin full of newly cleaned water inside the cave. All the while Appa was slowly keeping an air flow moving out of the cave to prevent the smog from creeping back in. She drew her energy center and flung her arms high, creating a great wave that flowed over the land and smashed against the entrance of the cave. She blew a frigid breath across the wave and froze it, sealing them inside with a small glacier of a door. She melted out a little opening near the floor so air wasn't completely trapped, but the ice itself would act as a filtering barrier for the time being. It was cold, but she didn't dare start a fire in the contained area. It was actually a relief from the earlier oppressive heat.

Now she could focus her attention back on her husband. She took the clear water from the ice basin and flowed it over her hands. It felt good to touch the pure liquid again and it revitalized her as much as she pushed her own energy into it. She ran her shimmering hands back along her husband's sternum and chest, pushing the healing energy into him. She could still feel the knot of strange energy as it clung to the muck coating his lungs. Cold sweat began to bead along her forehead as she willed his lungs to eject the gaseous intrusion. With a final forceful push of energy, Aang started coughing and expelled a thick black mucus and began breathing strongly again.

* * *

He blinked open his eyes and the first thing he saw was a shimmering blue glow. He knew he wasn't in the Avatar State because he could feel an outside energy pushing into his chest and around his heart. It was familiar and warm while the air was stale and cool. He closed his eyes again, enjoying the sensation. Her energy always prickled along his most basic instincts. Katara had once embarrassingly informed him that she discovered this as well after his lightning strike in Ba Sing Se. He reached up and grabbed her soft hand blindly, knowing exactly where it was, hovering over his torso. His kissed her fingers and pulled her to him, just holding her.

"Mmmm. You're really good at that," he murmured, kissing her head. He sat up slowly, bringing her with him. "You caught me again, didn't you."

Her eyes met his and she blushed. "Of course. I'll always catch you."

"I feel like that should be the other way around… " he admitted guiltily, then smiled. "But I wouldn't expect anything else from you. We catch each other." He looked around, finally getting his bearings. They were just within the mouth of a large cave. Even Appa was inside. There was a huge door made of ice closing them in, but letting light through. It was slowly dripping from the hot air and fading sunlight outside, but it was so thick that Aang suspected it would hold through the night."What happened? Where are we?"

"You've actually been out for a while. A couple hours I'd guess," Katara responded, handing him a skin of drinking water and a bowl of dried fruits and nuts. He graciously accepted them. "When we landed, you kind of hyperventilated after holding the airshield for so long. You took in a lot of the pollution. You fell off of Appa, but I caught you. You were hurt pretty bad inside and I needed more clean water so I could heal you. It took us a while to find this cave. There's a stream outside of it, but it's really dirty. The cave was actually pretty full of the smog too, but I had Appa air bend it all out before sealing us inside to keep it from seeping back in. It took a while to separate the water from the pollution by myself."

"Wow, Katara," he replied, astonished. "Have I told you you're amazing lately? I think I already did earlier. But I need to say it again. You are absolutely amazing. I don't know how you do it sometimes. Water really is the element of change. You can improvise anything!" He wrapped his arms around her tightly, entranced by her unending ability to astound him. He could feel her cheek grow hot against his own and he knew she was modestly blushing.

"I'm just thankful you're okay," she smiled, brushing a kiss against his scruffy cheek. She passed her hand into his robes and over his heart again and searched into his lungs and blood. It felt all clear. There was no sign of the pollution or strange energy anymore.

"Woah there, Touchy-Mc-Touch-ster," Aang gasped as he felt his wife's energy flow into him enticingly, "I don't know if I can handle that right now…but I could try…"

"I was just feeling for any more pollution, you big jerk," Katara gave him a snarky look and pursed her lips at him. "Plus when you went down there was a really weird energy that was hovering in your lungs. But it's gone now."

"Oh, right…" Aang rubbed his neck and felt kind of stupid for thinking that his wife was looking for a quickie right after that whole ordeal. Truth be told, his interest had been piqued on the issue the moment her hand touched his chest. He had to will his hormones to calm back down, but then remembered the last thing he saw. "Wait, a 'weird energy?' You didn't happen to see anything before I went down, did you?"

"Well, actually I thought I did." Katara cocked her brow at him, "The air whipped a bit oddly and I thought I saw something in the fog that almost looked like a giant butterfly… but I was pretty focused on catching you."

"I thought I saw something like that too!" Aang's eyes were bright and he actually clapped his hands a bit excitedly. "That must be the spirit of this valley! If it's a butterfly I bet it's an Air Spirit! I've never met one of those! It will be so happy to meet me, being an Air bender and all! This will be so exciting!"

"I don't know Aang," Katara grimaced, "It felt kind of dark and angry when I was trying to heal you… And it went after you… and I think Appa too… but it left me alone. I mean, I felt ill, but I didn't feel the spirit energy in me."

"Oh Katara!" Aang said gaily, squeezing her tightly again, "I'm sure everything will be fine. You'll see, come morning we'll get this all cleared up and have a happy spirit and valley again!"

She wasn't so sure, but right now didn't care as fatigue began to overtake her. Aang laid out the sleeping mats and bedrolls for Katara and insisted she rest a while and let him take care of her for a change. The monk began preparing the cave for bed. They would be plunged into secluded darkness soon… something he was planning on taking full advantage of.


	3. Interlude in the Valley

**FYI- This chapter is a super short lemon sex scene. It happens. It originally grew from a scene that I wasn't planning on going down that route... but... unplanned, accidental sex between consenting adults happens. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Playful banter between happy lovers.**

 **Some plot/story meat other than lemon near the end.**

 **Please R &R!**

* * *

 _Interlude in the Valley_

Light was pushing though the thinning screen of ice at the entrance of the cave and sparkling down serenely on the couple sleeping peacefully there. Blankets were twisted and clothing had been tossed haphazardly aside during the night. They weren't tangled tight around one another as some would think a pair of new lovers would be- probably because they weren't new to the dance. The slightest contact was all they needed to reassure one another. The man was on his side, curled toward his wife, a single tattooed hand resting gently on the woman's hip. She was lying on her back with the blankets and furs piled around her; her calf was just ever so lightly brushing against her husband's knee.

Katara started to stir, stretching her arms and spine languorously, causing a series of pops to click through her joints. Aang was still gently breathing, blissfully asleep. He was so warm while she was clammy in the chilled damp air of the cave. She groaned a bit and shivered, silently cursing the airbender's incessant internal furnace and reaching for the blankets to cover her exposed form. How he stayed warm, even at the poles wearing next to nothing was a mystery to her. It was like temperature barely even bothered him. She patted the hand against her hip and slid her leg along Aang's. This elicited a small moan from him and his fingertips tugged slightly at her waist reflexively.

"Mmmm, what time is it?" she murmured, reaching over stroking his scalp stubble. He had let it go for a couple days and Katara knew she'd have to take care of it soon. It had become one of their little rituals together. He had lost his straight razor so many times on different adventures that Katara started to use her water bending skills to shave smooth his dome. Aang had said that she did a better job anyways and he loved the feel of her healing hands across his head.

Right now Aang didn't even want to open his eyes yet. He mumbled something incoherent in his half-asleep state and dug his fingers into her flared hip bone and pulled her toward his body, turning her to nestle his groin against her backside. Well, part of him was awake anyways.

"Who cares?" he finally mumbled into her hair, pushing it aside with his nose to find her soft skin. His short beard scratched along her neck as he peppered her with kisses, tasting the salty skin that smelled of cool sweat and the musk of latent sex. His fingers squeezed into the flesh tucked privately low between her hips and then crept down between her thighs, stroking the silky warm skin. He pushed his arm under her body to curl around and knead at her breast, the supple tissue puckering nicely between his fingers. He skimmed his teeth along her shoulder and bucked roughly into her. His excitement twitched hopefully against her soft opening. She tasted so good. Waking with her in his arms was one of the highlights of his life.

"A-ang, didn't you get enough last night?" She teased, but moaned at his touch. She tried weakly to writhe away. Nothing would have been more welcome than to give in to his tempting ministrations, but better judgment was at the forefront of her mind. She was awake enough to sense there wasn't much time left before the icy wall crumbled.

"Never." With that he fully bit into her shoulder and plunged his fingers into her wet folds, ripping a cry of shocked pleasure from her throat. He was decidedly awake and wanted her right now, and knew just how to persuade her.

"Sweetie! We don't have time. I need… to take care… of the ice wall." Her breathing was labored as he sent shockwaves of satisfaction through her body. If she didn't get away quickly, she would be completely consumed by the desire.

"We have as much time as we want," was his heady, throaty response. His touch was like fire burning into her sex and she knew it probably wasn't just metaphorical. He loved playing with his bending abilities while playing with her. But two could play at that game.

"Aang, I'm serious," she gasped, still trying to pull away. Her mind was battling with her body and she was quickly losing to her primal needs. "Don't make me stop you," she threatened halfheartedly, pulling some icy water from the basin nearby. She let a few frigid drops fall onto the heated skin of his shoulder.

"That's not very convincing," Aang growled into her neck as he shuddered. The sensation of the cold water drops tingling in stark contrast to his flushed body, just enticed him more. He hoped she would continue with her bending. She could induce the most delicious gratification when she went down that route during their foreplay, even if it wasn't a full moon. He was so hard and ready it was nearing on painful. He could feel her slick walls convulsing in eager anticipation as he strummed inside her. "But please, do try that some more."

Katara couldn't resist any longer. She pushed her rear against him in return, forcing him to moan and squeeze tighter in response. She rolled to her back, giving her husband full access to her body. Her hand slid down to stroke at his length and return some of the pleasure he was giving her. He dug in even harder at her contact. He dipped his head to capture her breath into his mouth and feasted on her whimpers. His tongue then trailed down her throat and found her unattended breast and lapped at it with unrestrained hunger. He could feel the energized water lick up and down his spine with her touch. It seeped into his chi paths and settled into his root chakra. This tightened something in his very core and elicited an uncontrolled spasm. All that mattered in the world in that instant was the woman beneath his grasp. He had to be in her. Had to dive into her energy and swim through her ocean.

He was above her in an instant, pressing into her, willing her to give him access. She didn't hesitate, spreading her knees around him and shifting her hips to meet him eagerly. A moan of pure ecstasy spilled from her lips as he plunged into her. She grabbed at his rear, and bucked into him, pulling him as deep as he could go. Her body was his home, was his temple where he could worship at every day. He didn't care if she was an earthly tether. Making love to her was the purest form of cosmic energy he had ever found, Avatar State be damned.

Aang pushed aside some of the pelts and sunk his hands into the stone beneath them like it was soft clay to find stronger purchase in order to rock into his wife farther. He rode hard and deep, relishing every gasp and cry as if they were sacred prayers.

She couldn't help but give in to him. It was never a matter of persuasion. Try as she might, she always wanted him, craved his touch. It was far more profound than lust. She loved him and she needed him. She needed him *because* she loved him. Just the weight of his heavy frame on her was welcome and euphoric. The feel of him driving into her, throbbing against her most hallowed spaces was bliss. Their elemental energies would crash into each other, delving into their souls until they couldn't tell where one spirit ended and the other began.

With a final cry Katara writhed her climax around her husband. Her energy pulsed through him and across the cave, like waves rolling against the sand, bringing him moments later to his own shuddering finish. The ice wall at the entrance to the cave splintered, causing tiny shards to tumble and tinkle to the floor. The ground had actually cracked beneath them.

Aang dislodged his hands from the stone floor to touch his wife's face, gently kissing her panting mouth. His fingers were rough against her soft skin. He glanced around and noticed the minor damage caused by their uncontrolled bending. A puff of flame escaped Aang's lips as he chuckled.

"Heh heh heh… this is why our house is made of wood and bamboo, isn't it?"

"Yeah… we kind of cause problems with nearby elements sometimes, don't we? Made it all night without wrecking anything, just to trip up now." Katara returned the laugh, scanning the cave. "We've gotten better… at least you don't induce firestorms anymore.…"

Aang finally rolled off his wife and just laid there enjoying the afterglow, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. "It's worth it," he sighed.

Katara climbed out of the blankets and padded nue and barefoot to the ice wall. Aang fully enjoyed watching her hips sway in rhythm with her cascading wild hair, outlined in the dim light. The image of her bare form, back dropped by the wall of ice wasn't particularly erotic, but beautifully artistic. The sculpted ice mirrored the waterbender's sculpted and curved body.

She reached out and easily mended the cracks, but knew it wasn't going to hold much longer. She could tell by the angle of the dim sunlight cutting through the frosty screen that is was really late. It was probably creeping near mid day. It had been so dark in the cave that they had lost track of time. Too much love making through the long night and morning didn't help either as they pushed each other to exhaustion. They needed to get moving again.

"Aang, get up. We need to deal with whatever is out there," she complained. "We overslept."

"Hrrrrrr. Five more minutes…" He grumbled and rolled onto his stomach, hiding his face in the pillows. They were warm and soft and smelled sweetly of Katara.

"Oh no you don't, Mister Avatar!" Katara huffed back, trying to ignore how much she enjoyed admiring his broad, toned shoulders and slick back. She wanted to go back to him and run her tongue all the way along his sky blue tattoo. Wanted to taste the edges of the dark scar in the middle of his spine. "I completely blame you this time and mean it."

"I know," was his muffled reply from within the blankets. He looked up at her and stuck his tongue out in protest, but pushed himself up. Katara noticed he didn't use any airbending to get up like he usually would. She watched, biting her lip and swallowing her lust back down, as his muscular arms and shoulders rippled. He was still trying to tease her, she realized. She rolled her eyes and ignored him before crossing over to their packs and threw some clothing at him. He caught it and just laughed.

The chunk of hearty nut bread that she threw while he was distracted pegged him in the middle of his forehead arrow instead.

* * *

They pulled pants and robes and boots on. Aang watched with a pout as Katara bound her breasts and slipped her sky blue fighting dress on over her head. When she got the chance, Katara palmed her hand over Aang's stubbley head and he just nodded at her knowingly. He sat in front of her while she cautiously skimmed a sheet of razor-sharp water across his skin with one hand and soothed his scalp with the other. He couldn't be more content in this moment. It was the simple everyday activities that made life beautiful. They worked together to roll the bedding up like they always did.

"These seriously need washed. They're starting to remind me of Sokka's tent…" Katara giggled, passing a fold to Aang and stretching down to grab another blanket corner. Aang just snorted. "Unfortunately, we don't have a decent water source."

Aang looked past her to the ice, nervous. Katara would be away from her element and probably at the mercy of whatever water she was able to bring with her. They also had their aging animal companions to worry about.

"I don't know what to do about Appa," he said, tightening his blue belt sash. "There's no food for him and barely any water left for us out there. At least he can drink the water off the remaining ice. I don't like the idea of going back out in that smog."

"Me either sweetie," Katara admitted, biting her lip, her face twisted in a scowl as she braided her hair back. It was too hot out there for her to leave her hair down. "Maybe he just stays here and rests a while? No sense in over taxing him yet."

"Yeah." Aang scooped up his glider out of their supplies and called to the sky bison and lemur who had been ignoring them like usual in the back of the cave. "You boys stay here, okay? I don't like it out there for you. Appa, keep the air clear in here if you can." He turned back to Katara. "Ready?"

"As much as I can be." Katara replied as she reached her fingertips to the dripping wall of ice.

Katara tightened the straps on her water bloats and reached her fingers to the ice wall. Tendrils of frigid water flowed into her water bags from the wall as she created an opening just big enough for them to slide through. "Waste not. Cleaning this water was hard work…wait. I want you to try something before going out there."

She placed her hand on Aang's chest, stopping his exit.

"What?" He gave her a questioning look.

"Yesterday, I was worried I was going to go down… I used my healing energy to shield myself…" She was glad she remembered this through all of their escapades. "I used the water in my own body to protect the inside of my lungs. I couldn't do it for you because I couldn't keep the energy there for you. Watch. Like this."

She drew her hands together in front of herself, focusing her energy central again. She closed her eyes and Aang could see the healing energy sparking across the skin of her chest where her dress dipped into a deep V. He could see it even glowing through her clothing slightly. He could feel it, more than see it, spread through her lungs, coating them from the inside. She breathed deeply, exhaling a frosty mist from between her soft pink lips. It reminded him of his fire breathe.

"That's brilliant, Katara!" He smiled proudly at her, but furrowed his brow and rubbed his bearded chin, worried. "I've picked up some healing techniques over the years, but I don't think I could do that…"

"I'll start it for you and you see if you can hold it?" Katara shrugged at him. "It's worth a shot, right?"

"Yeah."

Katara pulled more water from the ice wall and energized it, her hands glowing, and reached towards Aang's chest. She hesitated just before touching him and cocked an eyebrow at him, smirking. "Just don't get over excited."

"Heh, heh, heh. I'll try, but no promises," he laughed back, copying her smirk. "Honestly I don't know if I have anything left…"

Aang steeled himself against Katara's touch as the cool water slid over and into his skin. She closed her eyes, concentrating on searching inside of his chest. Aang slid his eyes closed as well, following her lead. He could feel her energy pushing in to him. Through muscle and bone and into his lungs. A part of his mind was amazed and he actually wondered if she would be able to bloodbend without the full moon. He refocused on that feeling and tried to replicate it and hold it within his body. He felt her free hand take his and cover his own heart with it.

"Feel in here," she gently guided. "Really visualize every vein and artery running through your lungs. Protect it."

He could feel it; the energy in the moisture inside his own lungs. He took the control of the bending from Katara and filled it with his own will. It started weakly, but as he focused, he could sense it growing and spreading. What began as a pea-sized ball of energy nestled in the joint between his lungs spread down through the veins and arteries like a spider web. He was able to reproduce the protective barrier himself. He barely even noticed when Katara's energy withdrew.

"I'm doing it! It feels like trying to breath at the South Pole." He became ecstatic. His stormy eyes popped open, flashing excited. "This is great!"

"I can feel it too," she beamed at him, noticing the faint healing glow resonating around his sternum. "Good job, Pupil Aang."

"Thank you, Sifu Katara," he warmly replied, bowing respectfully. "Now we're ready."

He took her hand, much more confident now, and led her out into the desolate wasteland beyond their private sanctuary.


	4. The Air Spirit of the Gufeng Valley

**Finally, the meat of the story! Short chapter, but action packed. Newcomers, I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Faithful followers, I hope you like the new chapter breaks. I feel like they flow better. Always love R &R!**

* * *

 _The Air Spirit of the Gufeng Valley_

The sun was high overhead, barely discernible though the thick smog. Heat overtook them the moment they exited the sheltered cave. Visibility was low across the landscape, but they could make out the rock formations and sludgy stream nearby. There were dead and barren snags of trees scattered and fallen densely about. The pollution assaulted their eyes, pulling tears from them, burning, but their lungs stayed cool and clear. They could feel the energy of the defensive shield fighting against the smog and taking it in, cleansing it. It took a measure of concentration to keep it up, but they were able to maintain it.

They spent a minimal amount of time working on the ice wall to the cave entrance. It was easier this time with Katara water bending and Aang earth bending the filth out of the streaming water to reinforce the frosty barricade.

"I don't sense the Spirit right now," Aang sighed dejectedly, trying to peer through the gloom, "so I guess the first thing we need to do is find the source of all of this pollution."

"Cut the infected and dead tissue out, before trying to heal everything else?" Katara quipped.

"Exactly. Once we find that, then I think I'll have to do some serious air bending to clean this all out. Avatar State serious." Aang swirled the air around before them and pushed it out beyond them, clearing the way a bit in hopes of being able to see something. Everything just looked the same- shades of grey and brown and lifeless out into the distance.

He punched into the ground, searching out with his earthbending for anything. But it wasn't like the Foggy Swamp. There was nothing spiritually living out here anymore, and he didn't even know what he was looking for. Other than the disgusting stream, nothing was present but the dry, cracked earth stretching on for miles and miles. There was some kind of white noise deep in the earth, but he didn't pay it any mind. Toph may have been able to see something, but even the Avatar had limitations when it came to bending styles that hadn't even been developed during his previous lifetimes.

He frowned back to Katara. "Well, you got us this far, sweetie. Which way DIDN'T you go yet?" She swung her head, getting her bearings and thought for a moment before pointing across the desolate landscape. "Then we head that way and hope to get lucky."

* * *

The trek was much like the one Katara had taken the day before, just without the worry of Aang being unconscious. Bleak and foul, devoid of life and hope with the exception of scraggly brown and brittle weeds poking up every once in a while. Unlike the destroyed forest outside the Senlin Village, there were no acorns, no seeds at all. No hope for life. The valley wasn't burnt, it was just dead. They came across the desiccated remains of random animals, mummified by the environment. The Si Wong desert had more to offer. Some cactus juice would have been a welcome diversion at this point.

Aang kept pushing air ahead of them, looking for anything that would steer them in the right direction. Sporadically he would search with his seismic sense for a lead on anything. Katara kept bending her sweat into an empty bloat to conserve what little resources she had. They continued walking until the sun started to dip towards the west.

Eventually Aang could perceive a building and directed them towards it. Concrete and metal. A lot of metal. Soon they could see it, a huge metal box looming in the distance, with giant curved tubes lying oddly across the roof. Thick black smoke was rolling from an opening in the tubes. From there it just fed the ever growing cloud of poison and dispersed through the air. Everything was the color of soot and charcoal. The walls, the remains of whatever windows were left, the roof, the weird tubes. When they got closer they ducked behind a rocky outcrop to survey the area.

The stone lot surrounding the building was a continuation of the barren wasteland of rubble and weeds trying to get a foothold in whatever cracks they could find. The sparse vegetation fighting for purchase in the empty lot was depressing. Tall metal link fences topped with slanted barbed wire surrounded everything. The angle of the wire was facing in towards the factory, as if it was trying to keep workers *in* instead of possible riff raff out. The fence was broken in many places anyways. It appeared completely abandoned, yet somehow it was still spewing the smoke.

Katara glanced over to Aang and could see the determination shimmering in his eyes. He didn't have an ounce of fear. He was ready to go in there, elements blazing, kicking ass and taking names. Katara was sweltering and panting. She braced herself for the fight she knew must be coming by shrugging her dress off, leaving her in her white bindings and underskirt. At twenty five, she was old enough to just not give a damn anymore. Aang gave her a sideways glance and a smirk as she tied the yellow sash back across her hips and rolled her neck around like a fighter preparing for a bout.

"Really?" he jibed.

"What? Like I've never done this before. Screw this, it's hot. " She made a rude hand gesture and stuck her tongue out at him. "You get to wear next to nothing."

"True…This is it. Find the source in there and plug it up. Easy as fruit pie. Ready?" he asked pointedly and jumped spryly out from behind the rocks before Katara could answer, staff in hand and robes flowing lightly behind him. He slipped through the fence silently and continued toward the imposing structure.

Katara could flow like water, but Aang danced like the wind, always a few steps quicker and more graceful. Katara felt like she sounded like a clumsy trash panda in comparison and managed to snag her belt on the jagged cut chain, pulling a tear in it. A whispered string of vulgarities fell from her throat, causing Aang to turn back to her and scowl with his finger pressed against his thin lips.

Aang stooped down and drove his fingertips into the compacted dirt and closed his eyes, listening. He rapped his staff on the ground several times, sending small shockwaves through the earth. With his seismic vision Aang could see through the ground and into the building as the waves of energy bounced back to him. It reverberated painfully back and he winced and shook his head.

"What is it, sweetie?" Katara asked, placing her hands on his shoulders gently.

"Ug. Too much metal…and something else," he responded, holding his forehead. "There's a ton of metal rebar all through the stone of the structure. I've never been able to pick up metal bending, no matter how hard I've tried. It's blocking my vision. Looks like we do this the old fashioned way."

They circled the factory several times, searching for any signs of life. Some of the walls had vulgar graffiti scorched and surprisingly earth bent on them. Stupid stuff like cuss words and crudely drawn pornographic images. They recognized some of the names from Fire Nation history that were advertising various sexual exploits. They just shook their heads and chuckled nervously at the absurdity of it all. One wall in particular was cursing the Avatar for abandoning the world. Aang scowled and turned away, reliving old guilts.

"We've been over this…" Katara spoke softly and rubbed her hand along his arm, soothingly.

"I know," he replied, rubbing his palm across his eyes. "It still hurts."

After about the fourth time circling the building, Aang tentatively pushed on one of the doors. Katara had no great desire to actually touch anything. The amount of rust and soot coating everything made the old shed behind Toph's house look like a spotless mansion after its daily maid service. It squealed loudly, protesting against the ancient and weather-worn hinges, but it opened. The heavy metal door scraped gouges into the stone floor and disturbed the layers of dust there.

They crept in awkwardly. The whole atmosphere was much more menacing than the factory at Jang Hai or even the creepy Foggy Swamp. It may have been daylight out, but inside it was dark and ominous. The only signs of life were the ancient bird and rodent droppings and similar footprints scuffled in the heavy detritus there. Weak sunlight streamed in from the broken windows, dimly illuminating the vast expanse of nothingness that was the interior of the warehouse.

Aang was on a mission, silently floating through the halls as only he could- until he somehow managed to trip over an old metal folding chair right in the middle of a room. There was a paint can sitting on it for some reason and the whole thing clattered noisily to the ground. He tumbled with it as his legs tangled in the spokes of the chair.

"I'm okay!" he hurriedly replied, blushing and embarrassed. He flipped himself up off the floor and air bent the dust off his robes. Katara stifled a giggle and secretly felt better about her own bumblings.

They started searching room to room wordlessly. Katara promised Aang years ago that she would help him and would follow him to the ends of the earth if needed. But this was looking more insane with every empty room they checked into. Nuts with a capital NVTS. They simply couldn't find the source of the smoke. It was dark and spooky, adding to the ever growing list of cliché's. There were a few abandoned machines scattered around and silent. They were huge and looked like the kind of monstrous contraptions you would see in history books in the chapters about the child labor sweatshops. They really had no idea what they did. Aang tiptoed up to one, ever curious.

There was a peculiar rusty brown splatter in the joints of it. He backed away anxiously, certain it must be blood. They were getting jumpy by this point. At least they hadn't come across any obviously human remains yet. Clanks in the old pipes and skitterings of rodents that they didn't realize had still been alive were starting to make even Aang rethink the whole ordeal. Grab Katara, jump back on Appa, and fly as far away as possible.

"Some really terrible stuff happened here, didn't it?" Katara's voice was low and quivering as she gingerly touched the dark stains on the machine. Aang tried to clamp down his own fear. He looked over to her and stopped himself from gulping. He knew he couldn't mask his emotions from her. She could read every muscle twitch of his like a book.

"Yeah, I think you're right." He gently took her hand in his, consoling himself with her touch as much as he was trying to comfort her.

"SO YOU FINALLY SEE!" a fell voice echoed through the factory. It was painful, like nails scraping across a chalkboard. "THE HORRORS OF HUMANITY. WHAT THEY DO TO THE WORLD. WHAT THEY DO TO EACH OTHER!"

Aang and Katara jumped at the cacophonous shock after so much silence. Aang ignored his pounding heart and stood strong and proud, brandishing his staff out. He could feel spiritual energy prickling across his skin, making his flesh crawl. It had to be the Spirit of the valley. And it was furious. But he could feel it was an Air Spirit. This would all be fine. Calm the spirit, heal the valley. All in a day's work for the Avatar.

"I am the Avatar, and the last Air Bender," he called out bravely, and excited to meet an Air Spirit. "I know a horrible tragedy has befallen this valley. Genjin Katara and I have come to rectify this. Please reveal yourself so that we may palaver."

Katara shot Aang a dirty look and questioningly mouthed "Genjin?" at Aang. He innocently smiled back at her, shrugging.

"OH HOW NICE OF YOU TWO TO FINALLY JOIN US," the voice sarcastically drawled. "WELL, ME, AT LEAST. THERE IS NO MORE US."

The smog swirled before them, twisting an array of colors and cleared, revealing the most magnificent and enormous butterfly. Its wingspan rivaled that of a small dragon. Multiple clicking and clanking plated body parts. Long, curling proboscis. Six, many jointed and clawed pinching legs covered in spikes. Multifaceted shimmering compound eyes. It was actually terrifying. It beat it four black hued wings with a spot on each that looked like a drop of blood with an inlaid angry, scowling skull. The air whipped around the couple as they clung to each other. The Butterfly heavily touched down, throwing anything not bolted down into the air.

"Please, Spirit!" Katara yelled. "We mean no harm! We really do want to fix this!"

"THERE IS NO FIXING THIS! THE FIRE NATION DESPOILED MY VALLEY. ENSLAVED THEIR OWN CITIZENS AS WELL AS EARTHBENDERS HERE. TORTURED THEM AND DELVED TOO DEEPLY IN SEARCH OF MORE FUEL FOR THEIR WAR MACHINES." The screeching continued, emanating from everywhere and nowhere at once. Both Katara and Aang cowered, covering their ears. It didn't matter. The voice was tearing inside their heads. A whooshing sound hissed from holes along its abdomen and the plates expanded and contracted down, breathing the heavy, toxic fumes. "YOU SHOULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, AIRBENDER!"

"I didn't know!" he yelled back. "I was just a scared kid! But I'm here now."

"NO! IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT, AIRBENDER." The Butterfly pushed off the ground and hovered menacingly, malice licking at the term 'airbender.' "YOUR GENJIN PROTECTED YOU BEFORE WHEN YOU AND YOUR BISON ENTERED MY VALLEY. AND THEN YOU DARED INDULGE IN CARNAL PLEASURES WHILE MY VALLEY, MY MATE, IS BARREN AND DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR NEGLIGENCE. IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT YOUR GENJIN SHOULD BE AS WELL."

The Butterfly lunged at Katara, sweeping its wings toward her. Aang was caught in shock at the entire turn of events while Katara popped open her ballast, drawing a razor sharp disc of water out to protect herself. It sliced through the Butterfly's outstretched antenna just before it could make contact with her. The sensitive appendage clattered to the ground twitching, oozing yellow fluids onto the dust covered floor.

The pain wracked sound that pierced though the gloom was even more mortifying than everything previously. Both Aang and Katara hit the ground holding their hands to their heads while they felt like their brains were turning to jelly. Aang reached over and wrapped his arm around his wife protectively.

"YOU WANT TO FIX THIS? YOU COULDN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR GENJIN JUST NOW. SEE IF YOU CAN FIND YOUR WAY WITHOUT HER, AVATAR AIRBENDER! JUST AS I HAVE HAD TO FIND MY OWN WAY. ALONE AND ABANDONED. CHOKING ON THE REFUSE OF YOUR LEGACY." The Butterfly reached out again, easily touching Katara's forehead this time with a clawed leg as the pair was blinded by pain. Aang heard Katara gasp just before he found his arms completely void of his wife's body.

"NOOOO! KATARA! BRING HER BACK!" he screamed into the abyss. Tears poured freely down his face, streaking through the soot that had settled there. He had miscalculated. The air spirit was not glad to see him, an airbender. If anything, the Butterfly was even more incensed by the fact that it had been deserted by an airbender. It was blinded by rage and revenge and was going to take it out on Katara. "DON'T HURT HER! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT!"

"I won't harm her… yet…" the Butterfly's voice was soft and venomous now, lulling Aang's mind into submission. "I've been tortured for over a hundred years… I wonder how long your precious Genjin will last before she is as sterile and useless as my valley…"

Aang fell to the floor, his soul completely shattered.


	5. The Secret of the Gufeng Valley

**Waring: this get gory and pretty messed up... beyond the fact that a giant vengeful... butterfly... just kidnapped Katara. As always R &R!**

* * *

 _The Secret of the Gufeng Valley_

He felt his chest tighten the instant she disappeared. It wasn't from the emotion, but from the loss of her spirit. Their souls were so intertwined that he hadn't even noticed that a piece of her energy had stayed with him when she had created the protection in his lungs. He couldn't feel her spirit anywhere. She was gone. Simply gone. His best friend, his soul mate, the woman he had made passionate love to just twelve hours before, had been snuffed out of his plane of existence. The bald monk was left kneeling on the cold dirty concrete floor empty handed. A small puddle had pooled beneath him where his tears were hitting the pavement.

"BRING HER BACK, YOU MONSTER!" he raged into the nothingness of the factory. He slammed his fists into the stone floor, smashing it in shockwaves. Any windows left in the building exploded from the forceful tremors and blast of air. The broken rubble began to levitate around him. Wind and fire swirled as well. But there was no water to join in the all consuming display of raw power. NONE. His heart broke at the loss of this element for so many reasons. He stood heavily as his arrow tattoos began to glow and his vision became clouded with blue light.

It was an interesting phenomenon. His glowing eyes. When he entered the Avatar State, he could see, but he couldn't. If there were spirits present, they would come into the sharpest focus, but the rest of the world dissolved into its elements only. It was like seeing with heat vision, seismic sense, and blood bending all rolled into one. He could see everything, but only through the elements. A person was nothing more than the air in their lungs, heat in their muscles, water in their body, and iron in their blood.

He glared around at his surroundings and growled like a saber-toothed moose-lion on the hunt. He stomped hard into the ground, feeling for vibrations through the thin leather soles of his boots and held his hands out searching for lingering foreign energies. There was nothing. No life. No spirits. All he could feel was the metal rebar crisscrossed tightly through the building. But there was a stairwell off in the distance.

"NOOOOOO! KATARAAA!" his voice echoed in the emptiness, overlaid with the voices of a hundred lifetimes. He then whispered, "I've lost her to an angry spirit. Just like Koh took Ummi."

He felt the shock like a punch to the sternum and sensed the spirit's presence even before Aang clearly saw the previous Avatar through the blue shadows. The spirit memory of Avatar Kuruk burst from Aang's being and stood before the latest incarnation of the Avatar. He was a tall, proud young Water Tribe man, dressed in his polar bear-dog furs. He only appeared about ten years older than Aang. There was always a touch of sadness in his crystal blue eyes.

"No you haven't, Aang," he said gently, placing a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder, "not yet at least. I can feel she is in limbo- between the mortal world and the Spirit World. The longer she stays there, the more likely her body will waste away. And this time the Genjin will not be reborn."

There was that term, Genjin, again. Aang wished he could remember what it meant. The spirits knew it. His past lives did. Somehow it was important.

"Koh took Ummi from me as a personal punishment for my pride. He is a cruel and vicious spirit," Kuruk continued and scowled bitterly. "This spirit is full of righteous vengeance. He's an Air Spirit and thinks you abandoned him. He's had a hundred years to stew in his anger and pain. He is not rational now. His valley was destroyed and made barren. He wants to inflict the same pain on you as revenge. The Butterfly Spirit sees this as some sort of justice. If you can heal this valley, you may persuade him to forgive you."

"I can't do this without Katara," Aang replied, defeated. "I can't lose her again."

"You can and you will." Kuruk actually shook him slightly. "You are so much stronger and wiser now. I know you can succeed this time. Succeed where I failed."

The whirlwind sphere around the two Avatars pulsed and collapsed in a blaze of blue spirit light. Aang was left gasping alone on the ground again, fingers dug into the stone beneath him. His robes fluttered softly and the dust settled. The extreme force of the gale he had kicked up had pushed all of the smog out of the factory for now. It would take a while for it to roll back in. It bought him some time.

He unwound his blue belt and went to tie it protectively around his face, preparing for the onslaught of toxic fumes that he knew would return. Something bounced out of the belt and quietly plinked on the floor. Aang's vision tracked to the sound and saw two bright blue beads glinting in the low light. His heart skipped a beat. He gingerly picked them up as if they were the most precious stones on the planet.

In that moment, they were.

He brought them to his lips and closed his eyes as a last tear fell from his long dark lashes. He could hear it echoing through the silent gloom when it hit the pavement.

"I'm getting you back, Katara," he whispered to the beads. He tore a thin strip of material from the end of the blue sash and strung the beads through it. He looped the ends into two slide knots. Aang slid it over his left hand and laid the beads across the veins along the inside of his wrist. He pulled the bracelet tight with his teeth and free hand. The beads pulsed with his heartbeat.

He stood slowly and determinately, raising with his staff in hand and stomped into the ground again. He had to keep searching the factory. Where was that staircase? The new plan was the same as the old plan- find the source of the pollution, clear the valley, then… heal it somehow? Aang just had to do it alone and against the clock.

* * *

He came to a stairwell far back in the factory running up to higher stories and down into a basement level. Crumbling concrete with rusty metal pipe handrails. It was nearly pitch black down the subterranean stairs as they trailed farther away from the dim sunlight. The upward ones were only minutely less intimidating. Aang glanced up and down the staircase, a nervous look plainly visible across his face. He was hesitating on which way to go next.

"Which way should we go, Katara?" Aang's voice was low and quivering as he ran his thumb along her beads, caressing them. He gingerly touched the dark peeling railing. "Well, we know the ceiling won't cave in on us if we go downstairs since we were just walking on it for the last half hour." He scowled at the cracked concrete above his head. It looked pretty sketchy. "But we don't know if the floor won't fall out beneath us if we go up…"

"Down it is then, I guess," he continued talking to himself, as if his wife was there. It gave him comfort. "It's so dark."

He palmed a small flame and scanned the walls. There were glass hurricane bulbs protected behind metal cage sconces running along the stairwell. Tubes were strung between each on the outside of the concrete. He followed the line of piping to a wall switch nearby. He reached out inquisitively and flipped the toggle.

There was a strange hiss, but nothing else.

"It was worth a shot," he shrugged and slumped slightly.

He soon noticed an odd odor in the hall and his mind ticked back over ten years in time. It made him think of the mechanist and Sokka. It clicked and he flipped the toggle again. The hissing stopped.

Gas. Natural Gas.

They were gas lamps. Very old, but connected to each other. They probably required a spark when flipped on.

He bent the air out of the stairwell until the odor dissipated.

"Remember when Sokka blew the side of the mountain off the Northern Air Temple, Sweetie? Wouldn't want that happening again." He scratched at his head. "I bet a single spark of lightning would be safer than an open flame. Good thing Iroh taught me lighting bending. Man did that piss Zuko off when I was able to do it and he couldn't. Especially when I modified it in an Air Nomad style," Aang chuckled lightly.

He pulled the blue sash from over his nose and concentrated. He had learned lightening bending with incredible ease. His inner peace and balance saw to that. And then adapted it to be even more controlled through meditation.

He closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, rubbing the palms as if he was cold. He pulled them apart again, very slowly until they were about three inches apart, his fingers curled towards each other like he was gently holding something between his hands. He could feel a slight pressure change in the stairwell as he opened his eyes. There was a gleam of fierce concentration behind his stormy eyes as he calmly exhaled and suddenly he could see bright static sparks dancing back and forth from fingertip to fingertip. He reached his hands towards the switch and cupped his fingers around it as he flipped the toggle. The electricity arched from his fingertips and into the tubes, crackling. The energy hummed through the connectors, igniting the bulbs down the stairwell. Several shattered from the sudden pressure and temperature change after years of disuse, sending shards of glass tinkling to the concrete. They left open flames flickering behind the sconces. He cowered and broke the energy contact with the string of lights, fearful of the combustible gas. No explosion. He let out a sigh of relief.

It worked. A few of the ancient bulbs remained dimly illuminated. It wasn't much, but there was light, and he didn't need to concentrate on palming a torch the whole way. It was just enough for him to see where he would be going without falling and breaking his neck. He saw a few rodents scamper off the stairs, startled by the new light. He didn't think anything had still been alive anywhere.

"That's amazing!" he exclaimed in wonder to himself. "For all the terrible stuff the Fire Nation did, they sure got innovation right." He started down the gloomy stairs with renewed enthusiasm. His shadow twisted and danced in the soft wavering firelight.

* * *

It was colder down in the basement of the building. It was similar to the upstairs in that it was completely abandoned and none of the doors were locked. But down here he had to dodge oily pools of standing water whereas the upper level was bone dry. He stooped down and touched the dark water lightly, smiling hopefully, but it was more oil than water. The faint lights stretched on through damp and dank halls. He could hear the staccato drip drip drip of a leaky pipe echoing down the corridors. The place reeked of mildew and old fuel.

He came to a single locked door. It was nothing special. Heavy steal, worn with age and marred with rust along the edges. The bolt on the door was on the outside, like it was keeping something in rather than trying to keep anyone out. Just like everything else, it didn't look like it had been used in years. He slid the lock out of place, slowly turned the knob, and yanked on the door. It stuck and scrapped loudly as he pulled.

The odor of death and decay slammed into him like a brick wall. Stale urine and feces and sweat assaulted his senses and he stammered back, even with the blue sash around his face. It was just as dark in the room as everywhere else. Aang found a switch beside the door on the outside and tried it. This time when the gas was opened, lights around the room illuminated brightly. He shielded his eyes against the sudden contrast.

He glanced around the solid steel room before venturing in. And stepped back in horror. Refuse and waste was scattered about. There were a few chairs and a table. There were rusty colored splatter stains everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on the table.

That wasn't what terrified Aang. It was the bodies. There were the remains of roughly three dozen people. Men and women. Mostly tattered green and brown rags on the bodies, but a few red ones here and there. It wasn't like the massacre Aang had discovered at the Southern Air Temple, where he found Monk Gyatso's remains surrounded by the Fire Nation soldiers he had annihilated before he was overwhelmed. All of those corpses showed evidence of sudden death.

These mummified remains had wasted away before passing.

They were thin and scraggly, with waxy pale skin and deep sunken eyes. Matted beard and hair had grown long and nearly completely grey. Bodies were mangled and mutilated. There was this body that was a woman... It must have been a woman because Aang could make out the faint outline of a smaller corpse encapsuled in her sunken abdomen. Another was slumped across the table, its hand laid out. It was missing the pinky finger and two others had obviously been broken and never reset correctly as they were twisted at odd angles. There was evidence of festering open sores left to rot on the bodies.

He pulled his hand back from the door when he saw the bloody scrapes on the inside. Fingertips torn in agony trying to get out. They were earthbenders, not metal benders.

There was a clean bone on the ground near his foot. He stooped down to inspect it. There were teeth marks scraped against it, flesh eaten clean. They weren't rodent gnawings.

Aang could barely contain his stomach.

"Oh my Spirits, Katara," he gasped, holding his mouth. "They were just left here. Buried in this metal cave. Why?! Why would anyone do that!"

He knew the answer. During the war, the Fire Nation was ruthless. They had once been buried underground by soldiers and left to die too. But love would lead the way out. Or giant badger moles.

He looked back to the slumped body. It wore muted red. Under its tortured hand was a scrap of light brown cloth. The hand holding it down looked almost to be protecting it. Aang steeled himself against the horror and tentatively walked in, gingerly stepping around the remains.

There were several solitary, mismatched, and raggedly torn off fingers on the table near the corpse's right hand. The rag under the left hand had brown stains scrawled into it. The dying…man… had used the fingers of his dead cell mates to leave a message.

Aang carefully picked it up to read the markings.

 _I know no one is coming. We stripped the land of most resources years ago, but recently found an incredible store of oil and coal. But we delved too deep. There was an accident and the stores ignited. The best fire benders couldn't put it out. Someone said only the Avatar would be powerful enough to stop it. The fuel veins under the whole valley. We were buried with the secret beneath this factory- to keep it secret from the new Firelord. The Fire Nation loves its secrets. Including using its own citizens as slaves. The earthbenders here are my brothers in death._

There was a date on it from about ten years ago- just days after the fall of Firelord Ozai. Aang folded the stained cloth and slid it into the pouch at his hip and stepped back out of the room.

"Zuko needs to know about this, Katara," he whispered to his absent wife. "These souls need set to rest first. Just like the Southern Air Temple."

This pyre would be easier than the one he had made for Gyatso and the fallen firebenders.

* * *

After Katara had calmed him out of his grief stricken Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple, Aang had insisted on laying all of the bodies to rest. Even the Fire Nation soldiers. Sokka had been utterly dumbfounded as Aang carefully laid all of the bodies out before igniting the pyres and saying a few words over them all.

"They're Fire Nation! Let them keep rotting!" Sokka had shouted as the child Aang huffed and puffed, carrying the remains with Katara's help. "They don't deserve any of this respect."

"All life is sacred, Sokka. No one deserves any of this." The boy had said, turning angrily to his surrogate brother. He threw his arm out towards the massacre scene. "But even my enemy deserves respect. War is terrible, no matter what side you're on. Who knows what drove these soldiers to come here and do this. What lies were woven into their psyche to convince them to leave their homes and come here. Was it by choice? Were they forced? Did this man," he pointed to the body at his feet, "leave children at home to fight for what he thought was just? Can you answer that?"

Sokka stopped in his tracks and thought of his father. Hakoda was somewhere out there across the oceans fighting. He had left his children for what he thought was a just cause. Would they ever see him again either? If he died, would his body be treated with respect?

"No. You're right," the young warrior slumped as Aang returned to his task. For a goofy kid, the boy was really wise. Sokka started gathering wood. "Here. Let me help."

* * *

"I am so sorry for horrors that you had to endure," he spoke to the remains, his head bowed reverently. "I wish I had been able to help you before. I wish it had never even come to this. May you rest in peace. Retire to the Spirit World in a well deserved nirvana or return again to experience a new lifetime full of joy and peace."

Aang turned the gas lights off in the room. He sighed heavily and pulled a great deal of energy to the center of his body. With a gentle exhale he extended his palms towards the open room, forcing all the energy out. He detonated a tremendous fireball in the room's center. The remains were instantly ignited in the blaze. The intensity of the fire was so strong it only took a few minutes for everything to be reduced to cinders.

He turned and closed the door behind him. He took a wide horse stance and stamped into the ground. An inscription appeared in the stone before the door.

Here rests a collection of the bravest and most innocent members of the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. May their spirits find peace after their time of darkness.

Aang turned away, wiping a bitter tear from his face and continued searching for the exit point of the undying fire underground that was belching smoke and ash into the sky.

Aang didn't think he could be shaken much more today. The scene in that metal room of death proved him wrong. No wonder The Butterfly was angry. Not only had his valley been set on fire from within, but the humans probably LEAST responsible had been left to horrific deaths to cover up the secret. And if he had known, they could have been saved. Ozai loyalists were still haunting his footsteps a decade later. His head was reeling.

* * *

He soon came to the deepest part of the subterranean portion of the factory. The area was completely smoke filled and Aang had to use several air funnels to clear the space so he could see. The giant metal tubing he had seen billowing the smoke from the roof ran straight into the stone ground. It was big enough around that a large man could slide through it into the depths of the earth. It appeared to have been hastily constructed, with uneven bolts and awkwardly angled pipes running from it. Smoke escaped from the joints and old cracks in the metal. He could feel the heat of the underground fire through the soles of his boots. It was deep and faint, but it was there.

Aang pushed a hand into the stone floor and stamped the butt of his glider against the ground and searched with touch and sound. He could feel that the underground was deeply veined with coal stretching throughout the valley. Not just coal, but he could sense the oil that seeped up and into the coal from even deeper. And it was all in a slow burn. The fires were constantly fueled by the deep oil, never extinguishing. It had destroyed everything in the valley from below, boiled all the groundwater out and poisoned the air.

Aang's staff clattered to the ground as he opened his eyes and fell back on his haunches. He sat heavily on the floor, shaking his head in his hands.

"No, a whole team of firebenders would never be able to put this out. There's too much fuel. They'd never be able to pull all of the energy away from the coal. The coal is earth, and they have no power over that." His head shot back up, an idea sprung to life. "You gotta expand your mind to the possibilities, Bumi. If they had teamed up with earthbenders and actually worked together they may have been able to do it. With teams of really strong ones. Or if they had just told *me* from the beginning... Damn Fire Nation…" he cursed in bitter anger. "But I know what I need to do now."

He felt along the fuel veins again for where they stretched outside of the factory. How hadn't he noticed this earlier when he was looking for… anything?

"Because I didn't know what I was looking for," he said to himself. "I was too enamored with finding the Air Spirit and the honor I would receive from helping him that I was blinded by what I wanted, instead of what the valley needed."

Avatar Aang knew he was far from perfect. He was just as human as everyone else.

"But I'm going to make this right."

He rushed out of the basement as only a trained airbender could move. So fast and light, he was a blur of speed whizzing through the dank passages, past the metal tomb, and up the stairwell. He stumbled as he hit the ground floor but tossed his glider ahead of him. It snapped open, a flash of blue in the grey world.

He lunged, grabbing for the handholds and swung his feet towards the tail and hooked his boots on the mechanist's foot holds. He summoned a thermal to propel him from the ground and he swooped out of a broken window, narrowly avoiding the jagged glass clinging limply to the frames.

"Blue…It had to be blue, didn't it…" Aang sighed as he glanced at the material of the glider, and then the beads against his wrist. "They're Earth Kingdom, why wasn't it green?"

The heavy smog pushed into Aang's lungs as he exerted himself, pushing faster and harder against the clock. He coughed through the pain, willing the air currents to push the glider faster. He tugged on the right handle, causing it to bank sharply. He soared over the vacant and weed-strewn lot. Over the barbed wire fence and into the open wasteland before him. He kicked out with a single foot and sent himself tumbling toward the hard packed dusty land. It was a controlled fall as he twisted and turned, landing heavy and solidly, digging a single hand into the dirt. He dropped his glider and it clattered to the packed dirt.

He was the last air bender, but he was also the Avatar. Right now he needed to be an earth and fire bender. And he was on a mission to reclaim his Genjin. Whatever that meant.

* * *

There was the ever burning fire. Five hundred feet below him. Under layers of soil and rock. Waiting for him to snuff it. He was the only individual that could. Someone who could control fire and earth at the same time. It wasn't quite magma, but it was close. He absently thought of Yu Dao and Republic City and wondered if anyone could become a lava bender like an Avatar. A unique person with unique parentage. Fire and earth in their bloodline.

"I'll stop this fire, Butterfly Spirit!" Aang crooned to the empty smog, "But you have to bring back Katara! Bring back the Genjin!"

The air was silent in return, the smog thick as ever. Aang's eyes ticked back and forth against the stinging toxins, but he was left without a response.

"This isn't for me," he whispered, taking a step back from himself. "This isn't even for Katara. I have to let her go. This is for the valley. And this is for the people who unjustly lost their lives here."

Aang swung his arms wide in rotating arcs, as if he was summoning lighting, but ended the motion by planting his illuminated fists to each other. He breathed deeply, digging the toes of his boots into the ground and opened fierce, glowing blue eyes. The air pressure of the area dropped as he reached inward, bypassing anything detached from the earth. He was more than an Air Nomad. He had to be one with the earth as well.

The ground buckled underneath him instantaneously as he punched heavy fists toward it. Flame licked along his exposed arms, boiling any droplets of sweat that had beaded there. He gave the water freely to the other elements. He released any hold of the liquid element at that moment. The valley needed water, but right now it needed control of the other three elements. Water had no chance against a raging fire fueled by the ancient natural resources. Water would not put out this fire. Water had been taken from the valley, so the air spirit of the valley took the Water Genjin from Aang.

The Avatar punched toward the ground before slicing his hands open like knives cutting into a gourd, splitting the surface beneath him with his immense energy. With great scoops of his hands he began to dig with his earthbending, sliding the layers of rock and soil away and into great mounds. It wasn't like a common worker struggling with a shovel, the earth just cleaved and shifted beneath him like a child sliding a hill of sand. Deeper and deeper into the earth he searched for the track of burning fuel.

When he finally released the pressurized accelerant after so much altered earth, it escaped with a fierce blast, lapping energetically at the comparatively fresh air suddenly feeding it. Aang jumped back from the sudden flare, then doubled back, determined to control it. The Avatar's open palms clenched and became fists, converting the solid earth energy into flowing fire energy. Only he, in this heightened state could not only bend all four elements, but control them in tandem.

Aang could control each element in its own turn, but only the Avatar could wield them at once. Aang could punch through a stone wall followed by a whirlwind attack, but only as the Avatar, could he meld through that same wall with his gale during the same instant. Mastering each element separately was an incredible feat, but it was the culmination of the unification of each that made him a fully realized Avatar. The ability to not only command each element, but do so concurrently.

The elements began swirling about Aang with a will of their own. Stone and fire encircled him as he sent his own chi, his own energy into the depth of the inferno. Involuntarily a protective sphere of air formed around him. There was still no water for him to draw from. The only water there was in his own body. He could feel the pulse of his blood in his own veins. The blue beads against his wrist jumped contently with the liquid pulsing along with his heartbeat. It was like he could feel Katara's soul in the fluid of his blood encouraging him on.

Concentration. So much concentration. Aang closed his glowing eyes tightly and held his outstretched hands over the giant flaming chasm he had created. Sweat ran along his brow. He was on the verge of dehydration. He had to focus on the fire burning the coal, and the coal being consumed at the same time. He had to see both sides of the same coin simultaneously. He reached into the inferno with his mind and energy, peeling the elements apart that had been interwoven and feeding each other for decades.

One fist clenched, focusing on the oil-soaked coal and pulling it while the other hand was open palmed, sensing the fire and drawing its energy away. Aang sucked the air from the area and blew a gale force wind over the ever-burning pyre, creating a vacuum, choking the flames.

Aang could feel the power ripping though his body almost as powerfully as lighting as he redirected all of the energy of the immeasurable subterranean fire skyward and dissipated it into the atmosphere. The heat crackled along his body leaving scorch marks and blisters across his skin. There was so much of it, stretching for countless miles. It had more firepower than even Firelord Ozai had possessed under Sozin's comet. Even the Avatar could barely contain the power. With a final whirlwind of cold airbending, Aang sent a mighty air-stream into the cavities and forced an immense amount of air through the spider-webbed veins of fire. It was the concentrated effort of all three elements, digging deep into the heart of the fire, pulling its energy to the surface and releasing it through the vessel of the Avatar, that he was able to finally put the horror to rest.

The stone swirling protectively around him dropped to the ground and the flames licking his skin extinguished, his senses returning to normal. He was badly burnt and battered, teetering towards absolute exhaustion. All was silent. Aang thought the valley was silent before, but now it truly was. He hadn't even realized how loud the inferno had been because he didn't understand what it was. It wasn't a sound that could be heard, but felt in the soul. The earth beneath his boots whispered its tranquility to the Avatar and became still. The sun was nearly set in the distance, streaming the smog with an array of beautiful, but unnatural colors. Aang cocked his head to the side at the sight and sighed.

"I'm not finished," he said to the smoke filled sky, voice echoing with that of a hundred lifetimes. "The disease has been immobilized, but the infection still needs eradicated before healing can begin."

His tattoos flared along his chi lines again and his air sphere sprung back to life. It revolved stronger as he concentrated all of his Avatar energy into just that element. He felt weightless as he was lifted from the ground, toes of his boots dangling. Aang flung his arms wide, pushing the ball outward as he ascended into the polluted clouds. This would take as much strength as separating the fire from the coal had. All of the air of the valley needed cleared. He pushed shockwave after shockwave of wind out from his center. With twists of his hands he created a series of tornadoes capturing the smoke and expelling it high above the tops of the mountains that ringed the valley. With every bending move, the Avatar could feel his energy and stamina waning. His tattoos were starting to flicker and he was losing grip of the Avatar State. And the valley wasn't clear of its contamination yet.

"I don't know if I can do it, Katara!" he cried to his lost wife, tears that he didn't know he could still produce spilling down his cheeks.

"Yes you can, Avatar." Katara's voice was inside his soul. He could feel it inside his own heart, flowing through his own blood. It wasn't quite her voice, but echoed with other voices. It reminded him of his own Avatar's voice. He could feel his pulse thumbing in his wrist against Katara's beads. Glancing at them, they glowed in his vision unexpectedly. "I have always believed in you."

He could feel her energy vibrating inside of him, giving him new strength and courage. He screamed into the darkening sky, a sound full of rage and desperation, and pushed out even harder. Aang could feel muscles throughout his body tearing from the exertion. His heart and lungs pounding against the lack of oxygen. There was the hint of the waning half moon glinting though the thinning smog. The air *was* clearing. He could see the edges of the valley's mountainous walls many miles off in each direction. The scorch lines left in the earth from the underground burning streams of fuel were becoming evident from his vantage point. They flowed out in every direction like a river of death breaking into countless tributaries.

With the last ounce of strength he had left, Aang threw himself to the mercy of the whirlwinds he had created, willing the last of the smog out of the valley to disperse across the rest of the atmosphere. He would never be rid of the pollution, but it could be diluted across the globe now, instead of trapped. The world at large would be able to take care of it now.

The Avatar rode the dwindling air currents smoothly to the earth and collapsed beneath his newly returned weight. He could feel the abuse that he had put on his body. The intense bending had taken its toll on him. Everything hurt so badly. He didn't know if he could stand. He was starting to lose consciousness. He fell completely prostrate to the ground. With what little strength he had left he brought the beads on the inside of his wrist to his lips.

"I did it, Genjin," he whispered to them. "I healed the valley."

"No you didn't, Avatar." The cruel raspy voice was inside his head.

Aang's heavy eyes shot open as he strained to focus. He was terrified in a way he had never truly been before. He couldn't even sit up. He couldn't defend himself if he had tried. The hairy, spindly, creaking legs of the Butterfly clicked on the hard ground nearby. The rage had diminished, but Aang could still feel the spirit's malice. He lowered his bulbous head down toward Aang's, the long proboscis curling in and out. He could see his own shattered and distorted image reflected in the huge multifaceted eye. He shuddered when he felt the shortened antennae that Katara had sliced off twitching as is touched the tip of his arrow.

Suddenly he could see Katara. She was held in stasis, disconnected from the world. From the Mortal World, from the Spirit World. She was floating in the void of the space between. The universe was laid out beyond her into infinity. It was the void he remembered walking though when he finally unlocked the mysteries of the Avatar Spirit. The everything and the nothing at once. She was so perfect and beautiful and ethereal. He could sense her life force strong and pulsing. Whole.

The Butterfly's antenna broke contact with Aang's forehead and the vision disappeared.

"Give her back, please, I'm begging you." Aang had no more tears left to cry, his voice was a hoarse whisper.

"No," The Butterfly hissed. "Although I am impressed with the work you have done and pleased with the souls you laid to rest, my valley is still barren. You saw that your precious Genjin is unharmed. I will see to it that she will stay perfect as she is right now, forever if need be. I will keep her until my valley is healed how I see fit. Not when you see fit."

The Air Spirit's four black and red wings beat slowly, pushing his articulated body into the clear star dotted heavens.

It would have been a wondrously beautiful sight, but to Aang, there was no more beauty in the world. He reached into his robe and pulled out the bison whistle. With his last ounce of strength he blew into it long and hard before he lost his grip on reality and surrendered to his exhaustion and despair.

 **The burning valley is actually a real thing in Centralia, Pennsylvania, USA. Underground mines were accidentally ignited in 1962. The entire town is gone, burnt away and filled with toxic gases. And it's still burning to this day…**


	6. The Firelord's Dilemma

**What's Aang to do? How can he get Katara back? Can he? Will he? As always, please R &R!**

* * *

 _The Firelord's Dilemma_

thump…thump.. thump…thump.. . THump. THUmp. THUMp. THUMP

He could hear his heartbeat sliding into rhythm inside his own head. Soft and weak at first, but then faster and stronger. He couldn't will his eyes to open or limbs to move yet. He could make out hushed voices and shuffling feet as his other senses pricked back into existence. He could feel soft cushions under his body, like lying on a cloud. The air was warm on his skin with a slight breeze. He must be near a window, wherever he was. His skin… it hurt so much he suddenly realized. But he didn't care. He could smell the spring lilac bushes in full bloom.

'Katara loved the lilacs,' his mind told him drowsily. 'She loved all flowers because there weren't any at the South Pole.' A hot tear stung his face as it rolled from the corner of his closed eyelid, down across his temple and towards his ear. He slowly opened his eyes, recognizing that he actually had water in his body again.

"He's awake," a deep and gentle voice whispered. "Send for the Firelord. He wanted to be notified immediately."

Red. That's all his eyes could discern through his blurry vision. It slowly came into focus. There were oranges and blacks and yellows too. Fire Nation. He must be in the Fire Nation. Meanwhile Katara was gone. He tried his limbs and they fought against him, but shifted slightly. His eyes shot wide open, stressing at the sudden pain. Every muscle was screaming at him. He let out a dry moan of anguish that tore at his throat.

"Don't move, Avatar!" Cool fingers were laid on his bare chest. He could feel healing energy slipping inside him. It was unfamiliar. And weak. Katara was the only healer who had ever touched him. He had no idea before how good she was! "You've been badly injured and dehydrated. Here, drink this. Little sips. It's warm."

A strong hand slowly assisted Aang into a sitting position. A cup of warm tea was pressed to his lips. The herbs soothed his dry throat. Piercing blue eyes marked the healer as water tribe just as much as the dyed furs and bening abilities. What Aang didn't expect was to see was the bearded face that smiled warmly. His beard was long enough to have two pointed braids hanging from it… with a pair of white carved beads knotted into it.

"Thank you, sir," he whispered carefully between sips to the man. "I didn't know there were male healers. What's your name?"

"Nilak, Avatar. My name is Nilak. We didn't used to. But Master Katara changed that for us," the man replied politely. He was about the same age as Katara, maybe just a bit older. Wide, sturdy water tribe features graced his face. His eyes were gentle, comforting. He took some more water from a nearby basin and energized it over his hands. "I was at the North Pole when you and her came and defended us against the Fire Nation attacks over a decade ago. It's a good thing you did- I was no good at fighting but pretty good at healing. I was actually in warrior training class with you."

"I'm… I'm so sorry. I don't remember you…" he responded sheepishly. Aang cringed. He didn't remember the man at all. Nilak chuckled lightly as he ran the water over Aang's limbs. He could see scorch marks on his pale skin.

"I wouldn't expect you to… I was nothing special…" he replied casually, clearly taking no offense to the slight. He moved the water along Aang's arms, pushing the energy into his torn muscles. "Plus you were with Master Katara whenever you weren't goofing around. We were all just kids." Nilak was focused on healing Aang, but he could feel the unasked question lingering in the air. Where was Katara?

Aang was going to evade that conversation as long as possible. It hurt too much. He had no good response for Nilak and talking just injured his throat more… but he knew if he didn't make some kind of small talk, then the question would come up.

"So… are you married, Nilak?" he quietly asked, eyeing the beads in the other man's beard.

"Yes, I am. Not many outside of the Water Tribes know the custom." Nilak touched his beads gently and smiled. His icy gaze tracked to the beads still tied at Aang's wrist. "But of course you would…being… the Avatar and all…" Nilak carefully finished. He was being very professional.

"You don't have to call me 'Avatar.' It's too formal. Just call me Aang," he sighed. "I didn't think the beads could be worn anywhere but in the hair." Aang tested his arm. He could move it better now. He ran his hand along his scalp. It was perfectly smooth still. "Hey, have you guys been keeping my head shaved?"

"Of course, sir. We know how important it is to your culture." Nilak skimmed more water along Aang's legs. The burns were fading, but he had the feeling there would be some scaring. He hadn't received a single scar since Azula had shot him with lighting. Katara had always healed him perfectly. She was so wonderful. "But when you were brought here, The Firelord said to leave your beard. That you had grown that on purpose."

"Man… how long was I out *this* time?" Aang wondered aloud, frustrated.

"Four days as far as we know." The voice came from the doorway. It was a bit gravelly, but familiar.

"Hey, Zuko," Aang smiled weakly.

"Firelord Zuko," Nilak bowed his head respectfully, the beads in his beard swinging and tinkling against each other. "I believe there is nothing else I can do for The Ava… for Aang today. I shall take my leave at your permission."

"How many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to be so formal, Nilak?" Zuko smirked at the healer.

"Habit, sir," Nilak smiled warmly back. He bowed again to both Aang and Zuko before leaving.

"Nilak's our chief healer," Zuko said offhandedly after the young man closed the door behind him. "I'm glad I was able to hire him on- We had a tough time convincing any healers to come. And every female master outright refused. Something about spending too many years under the service of men..." Zuko chuckled at the memory of the story Katara had told about their time at the North Pole. And about how she had thoroughly trounced him under the full moon with minimal training.

Zuko pulled a chair over and sat next to the bed. He took Aang's hand gently and waited. He knew something had gone horrendously wrong, but he wasn't going to push the issue. His best friend had just returned from his honeymoon beaten and battered worse than he had ever seen him. And without his wife. There was also the matter of the disturbing and cryptic message that had been tucked into Aang's blue belt.

Aang stared out the window. Sunshine was streaming in, tinted purple by the lilac bush just outside. Tears started falling silently down his face.

"I lost her, Zuko." He could see her, perfect and beautiful in his mind. Captive in the void. "But I'm not done fighting for her."

"Does it have anything to do with this?" Zuko asked carefully, drawing a folded scrap of cloth from his sleeve pocket. Aang recognized it instantly. He thought he had lost the message.

"Yeah. It does." Aang slumped forward painfully and wiped his hands across his face. "I'll tell you everything. But first, how did I get here? The last thing I remember is collapsing in the Gufeng Valley."

"You showed up three days ago on Appa." Zuko poured another cup of tea for Aang and pressed it to his friend. He poured a second cup for himself and sipped it before continuing. "You were laid out along his horns like he had scooped you up. No saddle or supplies or anything. Just you and your animals. I sent a messenger hawk to Sokka as soon as I saw you. He should be here in another day or so. You were dehydrated almost to the point of death. Nilak and the other healers had to force water into your system. You were beat up so badly. But Nilak said all of the damage came from within. Your muscles were torn up. The burns across your body were really weird. I'd never seen anything like it. Like fire had been channeled along you and through you. Not just *at* you like a fire fight."

"The Gufeng Valley…" Aang replied, sipping the tea, still staring out the window. It was the only thing he could concentrate on. The sway of the flowers in the breeze, the hot herbal drink quenching him. Air and water. All of the horrors came back to him. "I had heard rumors of it being in bad shape and wanted to go help… It's bad. So bad, Zuko. The Fire Nation had a mining operation there during the war. Like the note says. I found the remains of easily three dozen people, sealed in the factory to hide its existence. There was an Air Spirit there… he was so angry…he took Katara as some kind of reparation… because of the mines… something had gone wrong and they were on fire. Had been burning for more than a decade underground. It killed the whole valley."

Zuko's heart dropped. He had read the message a hundred times in the last few days, but didn't want to believe it. He had never heard of this before. Some secrets were so deep that he was still trying to unravel the mess. How was he going to clean up an underground mine fire that had been raging for decades? Where would the resources come from? The Fire Nation was nearly tapped out after the years of work on the Restoration Movement and then Republic City.

"But I put out the fire," Aang sighed heavily, bringing Zuko's attention back to his friend. "And cleared all of the smoke and pollution from the valley…"

"What?!" Zuko's eyes bugged out as he coughed in shock, nearly choking on his drink. He knew Aang was immensely powerful and had seen his displays of might several times… but to take on a natural disaster of that magnitude… and defeat it… was unthinkable. "I went over maps of the valley. It's huge. Bigger than Roku's Island was. How is that even possible?"

"Heh, heh, heh," Aang laughed hoarsely. "It's what tore me up so badly. It took everything I had. But it wasn't enough. The Butterfly wouldn't give her back…"

"The…Butterfly?" Zuko arched a questioning brow at his friend.

"Oh my Elements… It was the scariest Spirit I've ever met. Worse than Koh even. At least Koh can be reasoned with," replied Aang, unable to ignore Zuko's stifled snigger. Aang knew it sounded ridiculous but he still hissed at his friend. His head snapped towards Zuko, stormy eyes flashing, "Laugh it up, buddy. That thing took Katara. It was the size of a small dragon. It made this sound that made my brain feel like it was melting. It was an Air Spirit. And it thought I had abandoned it… I guess I had…"

"I'm sorry Aang, you're right." The Firelord composed himself. If this spirit had taken Katara and terrified Aang, it must really be awful- even if it was just a butterfly. "Why won't it give her back if you stopped the fires? Which, by the way, is AMAZING!"

"Because the valley is barren," Aang continued his head in his hands, calm again. "It's an absolute wasteland. Everything is dead. Water needs shipped in. Vegetation needs replanted, animals need relocated. It's an ecological disaster."

Aang heard Zuko draw a sharp breath and looked over to see a strained grimace cross the Firelord's face.

"Aang… that sort of thing takes a lot of money and resources and … time…" Zuko's mind was racing. How could he help his friends? How could they get Katara back? What could he possibly do that wouldn't tax his already strained nation further?

"I know… It's Fire Nation soil. It was Fire Nation citizens that were left to die alongside Earth Kingdom slaves that I had to put to rest…" Aang looked desperately to his friend. "Zuko… They ate each other in the end … that note was written in blood."

Zuko's face paled at the statement and he dropped the scrap of cloth on the ground, mortified. Then he slumped. Just another horror to add to the pile of atrocities committed by his father. What could he tell his council, his people? What could he tell the Earth Kingdom?

Nothing.

He decided right then to tell them nothing.

"Aang… this has to stay buried. It has to stay secret," Zuko admitted. "I can't have this coming to light after all these years. We're at peace. A very tentative peace, but peace. This could ruin everything; send the nations into war again."

"But Zuko!" Aang began. How could he keep this secret? It was terrible. People had a right to know!

"No Aang. There's been enough pain at the hands of my family's war," Zuko cut him off with a glare, turning his scarred side towards Aang to illustrate his point. "I take your counsel all the time. Now you'll take mine. You laid the bodies to rest. There is no record of this mine or refinery- I looked. It was hidden too well. We have no way of knowing who died there or what really happened there. We leave it be."

"But the people. And Katara!" Aang was panicking. He could feel his heart quickening and throat tightening.

"This is for Katara," Zuko bit back. "If we delve into the slave and murder issue, it will take years to fix the valley- maybe forever if it sends us into another war! I'll talk with my advisers about what I can do to restore the valley. But it has to be careful. It has to be … profitable… to the Fire Nation. I know it sounds awful, but it's the only way. It's the only way to get Katara back."

"What right do I have to deny people the truth just for Katara?!" Aang felt sick. Families that had lost loved ones would never know what had happened. "I'm the Avatar! I have to put the needs of the world before my own… I have to let her go…"

"Is that fair to Katara?" Zuko knew Aang was battling inner demons: duty versus personal needs. It was a scenario he was well acquainted with. "Why did you go poking around that valley to begin with?"

"Because I wanted to atone for sins committed against the spirits," Aang answered solemnly.

"If we're plunged into another war, won't that negate what you and Katara were trying to do now? Whose side are you on for this one? Who's in the right and who's in the wrong? The humans or the spirits?"

"You know… Katara had asked me something similar when we set out. The Butterfly was satisfied with the humans I laid to rest. It's the restoration of the valley that it still wants." Aang looked over to his friend, defeated. "For the Spirit… and for Katara… Do what you can Zuko. Please."

* * *

Aang spent several more days in the healing room while Zuko conferenced with his advisers. A message was sent to Toph as well. The message was vague and coded because Aang knew it had to be read to her, but they had developed a system for private communication years ago. She was worried, but was reassured a trek away from her duties in Republic City was unnecessary. There was nothing she could do to help at this time.

Sokka made it in on the third day after Aang awoke. Aang explained that he and Zuko were working on a way to heal the valley so they could appease the spirit and get Katara back. Sokka was understandably distressed when he found out his sister had been taken but couldn't contain himself when he found out Aang had been bested by a butterfly.

"A butterfly? Really Aang?" Sokka tugged his wolftail tight against his scalp while laughing. "It's just not manly to lose to a butterfly."

"Go fuck yourself, Sokka." An incredibly perturbed Aang was still confined to his bed, taking only short walks between healing sessions with Nilak. "It was a super powerful, huge Air Spirit butterfly. And for the record, it was technically your sister who lost to a butterfly. I literally tore myself apart fighting an ever burning fire that encompassed an entire damn valley trying to get her back!"

"Hey! Easy there kid!" Sokka gave him a good natured shove to the shoulder as he plopped down on the bed next to his brother-in-law. Aang winced in pain from the jab. "That's the most I've heard you cuss…ever… Even when Toph steals your prayer beads for target practice with her metal bending trainees at the police academy. Where's your monk tranquility?"

"Where's your fucking sensitivity," Aang continued quietly and turned away, arms across his chest. The scorch marks that marred his skin had diminished greatly. A few more healing sessions and they'd be almost gone. But he knew they'd always be there. Faint scars to remind him of his failure.

"With Katara…" Sokka replied just as sadly, his head down and his hands folded between his knees. His scruff of a goatee was starting to fade into a full beard. He hadn't shaved in days. Come to think of it, with the exception of his scalp done by the healers, neither had Aang. Sokka looked worn. More like nearing forty instead of only thirty. Aang's expression softened. Sokka was just as worried about his sister as the Avatar was worried about his wife.

"I'm sorry, Sokka," Aang said gently, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I know you tease and joke to hide when you're really upset."

"I'm sorry too," Sokka admitted. He unsheathed a hunting knife from his boot and fidgeted with it anxiously. Aang recognized the nervous energy. "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through too…"

"When I meditate, I can see her. In the void. Held just beyond my reach. She's fine. She's healthy and perfect. But she's silent. Her life force is nearly at a standstill. She's in this deep sleep, but I can't save her." Aang thumbed the beads at his wrist. They were still on the tattered strip of cloth he had torn from his belt sash. "I love her so much."

"Yeah, we both do. But when we get her back, don't tell her I told you that." Sokka smirked at the bald monk. And then rubbed his palm over his brother's smooth dome. It nearly squeaked. He pointed the blade of his knife at his sister's beads. "Whatchya gonna do with those now, Mr. Arrowhead?"

This kind of teasing Aang could take and enjoy. A welcome diversion.

"I dunno… think I could pull off the Nilak look?" Aang looked to Sokka with bright eyes and stroked his growing beard. Sokka reached over and grabbed Aang's hand and held his wrist up to his chin, considering.

"Now that…" Sokka laughed heartily, trying to picture it, "would be pretty manly there bro."

* * *

It took another week for Zuko to convince the Fire Nation Heads of State that the Valley of Gufeng was worth looking into for use. As suspected, it had been kept so covert that no one had heard of the destruction of the valley. And dignitaries seldom bothered themselves with observing every inch of their land.

Aang was as healed as he was going to get, his burn scars faintly striping his skin like a tiger-seal. He spent most of his time training and meditating. There had to be some sort of answer to this disaster that he was missing, something that would help.

After some debate, Sokka decided to return to the Southern Water Tribe. Hakoda had been hinting at stepping down as chief and it was only natural that Sokka would take his place. He also had to tell their father and aging grandmother in person that Katara was missing. Not missing, Aang knew exactly where she was. And they were going to get her back.

"Send word as soon as you find out what work will be done on the valley," Sokka had said to Aang and Zuko, grasping each man's forearm in a warrior's farewell. "I'll send able bodies to help with the process."

"Sokka, this isn't a Water Tribe problem," Zuko had responded, although touched by the gesture.

"It might be Fire Nation land and a Fire Nation disaster… but it claimed the Southern Water Tribe Princess in the process," Sokka gritted his teeth bitterly. "I honestly couldn't care less what happens to that Jerk-Bent Valley. This is for Katara. I expect to get her back." Sokka narrowed his eyes at Aang accusingly. Eyes that looked so much like his sister's, only the slightest bit paler.

"As do I," Aang retorted as Sokka shouldered his light pack and turned to walk up the gangplank on the ship that would carry him south again.

* * *

"Three more weeks?!" Aang cried at Zuko when they got back within the Royal City walls.

"It's the best I can do, Aang!" Zuko shot back. His formal robes flowed out behind him in the blacks and crimsons. He pushed his hair out of his face, retying it in a tight top not. He had veiled his face with his hair - hidden his tell-tale scar- and donned common garb whenever out in the city. He had found over the years, going out like that was actually safer than trying to be escorted by guards. "The valley wasn't destroyed in a day. I have to go through all the proper channels to make sure this is done right. Environmental engineers, mechanists, biologists, chemists, every –ist you can think of. Benders from each discipline. Not to mention the bureaucrats and red tape and paperwork. You were there for the last decade while we put together Republic City. You know this takes time. Especially with the fact of how secretive the whole project originally was. I have to back-channel a lot of stuff. Plus I have, you know, the rest of a nation to run too."

"I know. I know." Aang grabbed at his face with both hands in frustration. "It's just….AARG! This is such a disaster!"

"I think Katara's rage has rubbed off on you, buddy," Zuko laughed a bit. "You remind me of… well, me about a decade ago. You'll restore your honor."

"Screw honor, I'll take Katara's rage. I'll take any part of her I can grasp," he scowled. He shrugged his own heavy hooded cloak off and just left it in a pile on the ground. Someone else could deal with it. He could feel the light air currents tickling across his scalp. Zuko was right. He was too angry again. His emotions were swinging back and forth wildly. "I need to get away. Clear my head a bit. I'm going gliding."

Aang stomped off, leaving little earthbending tremors in his wake.

* * *

The ground far below and the clouds above were a welcome comfort to the airbender. He traveled west, out past the capital's volcanic mountain range. Toward the Western Sea that separated the Fire Nation from the Earth Kingdom's eastern shores. It was the same path that the Fire Nation swiftly took to annihilate the Eastern Air Temple. He left the city and the people and the world behind him.

His Katara, his world, was lost. She was gone. Really gone. He was at the mercy of an angry spirit, and the world that the spirit was angry with. He and his wife were just pawns, caught in the middle.

The wind licked at his face as he whipped through clouds. His mind ticked back to when he had reshaped clouds with Katara. He had loved her so even then. That was just a few days after he had first given her a necklace. It was woven of fishing line and a pink flower. But she had kept it always. He replaced the withered pink flower with a hand carved one on her eighteenth birthday.

His mind slipped into a meditative state from the altitude and the concentration. He was an airbender. In tune with the spirits even if he hadn't been the Avatar. His people, though dead and gone for over a hundred years, were so peaceful and existed in a living nirvana of detachment from worldly possessions. But not detached from each other. They loved each other and life as fiercely as any other race. Maybe even more so because it was the only thing they truly valued.

The sky was a crystal clear blue, exactly the same color as his lost wife's eyes. He could see her whenever he wanted to enter the void of limbo. Somewhere between the mortal world and the spirit world. On the plane of pure cosmic energy. But she wasn't really there either. The only place she truly was, was in his own heartbeat. He could feel her in his own blood, in his spirit.

He would continue to fight to get her back and restore the Gufeng Valley, but in his heart, he was already accepting her loss. The air nomad race would truly end with him. He would take no other lover. He would never stop morning her. He would work tirelessly, and when his life was done, he was done. The world had changed and was moving on. Maybe it was time for the Avatar cycle to be done.

"Zuko's right," Aang whispered to the clouds, "The valley wasn't destroyed in a day. Regrowing and revitalizing it won't just take months, it will take years! A forest can't be born overnight."

"But what if it could, Avatar?" a voice overlaid by a hundred lifetimes whispered in his mind. "If the conditions were right, could a forest be reborn in a day?"

Aang's vision clouded with a blue light. It wasn't the Avatar spirit he was seeing with. The only element in his vision was water. He could see each droplet in the clouds, the stream far below, the molecules in the very air. This energy was cool and comforting, while it wrapped warmly about his heart. It felt like Katara's healing energy. It was so much stronger than Nilak's.

"Katara?" Aang asked the nothingness that felt like everything. "Genjin?"

"Avatar. I am a part of you as you are a part of me. We have been together for thousands of years. No matter what happens, I will always be with you." The soothing voice caressed his soul lovingly. "I know you. And I know you can solve this riddle. If you make fertile the ground, who can impregnate it?"

"A Forest Spirit," he replied to himself, gliding silently. "Hei-Bai."

"Hei-Bai."

Aang was left alone with his own thoughts again, swirling his glider and throwing himself to the mercy of the winds.


	7. The Avatar's Penance

**Aang has an answer and a plan.. but will it be enough? Will his penance suffice? Please R &R**

* * *

 _The Avatar's Penance_

The sun had set long before Aang had slipped silently back to the Fire Nation Palace. Only a handful of people in the world knew where he was and he wanted to keep it that way. He snapped his glider closed and nimbly raced across the roofs. The sky was dark and nearly moonless, just the faintest sliver of light. As gracefully as a cat, he danced through the open window to his room and hurriedly scrawled a message.

He blew across the ink to dry it and rolled the parchment up carefully. He tied a few items together in a bag and scurried back out the window. He ducked and weaved between the roof's precipices, evading the view of guards easily.

Zuko's window was open, his sheer red curtains waving gently in the spring breeze. The room beneath him was silent. Aang reached over the side of the terra cotta roof and palmed the stone wall. He closed his eyes and rapped on it with his staff. He felt nothing but the footsteps of distant guards. Either no one was there, or they were quietly sleeping in the bed and not touching any stone surfaces. He flipped himself through the window and his boots landed silently on the floor.

Zuko and his wife Mai were inside, fast asleep. Zuko's back was to the window shielding the Fire Lady protectively. Aang smiled wistfully at his friend and swallowed down a stab of jealousy. He pulled the note from his sack and checked it one more time.

 _Zuko, I can't stay here. I have… something I have to do. Three weeks. I will meet you in the Gufeng Valley then. I'll send word if I find anything else worth noting._

~ _Aang_

He rolled it back up and set it on the side table beside the extinguished evening candle.

At the window he flung his glider open and dove into the night sky.

* * *

Appa was quietly dozing in the stables. There was nowhere that was fitting for the giant beast inside the Fire Nation Capitol to roam free. It was one of the reasons Aang disliked staying in the city. Both he and Appa needed open sky and a natural setting. Momo didn't care. He liked anywhere that had an unending buffet.

"Hey buddy," Aang whispered to his old companion. The sky bison's great brown eye slid open and rolled, focusing on him. "I haven't gotten the chance to thank you. You really saved my can back in that valley."

"Mrrrrph," he rumbled at Aang and gave him a great big wet slurp.

"We're getting out of here," Aang said while grabbing some rope from the nearby workbench. He saw several water bloats lining the walls along side saddle bags and other supplies necessary for travel. "Perfect!" Aang exclaimed and slung two of the red Fire Nation emblemed water bags over his shoulder. "I always count on Katara to have the fresh water, but I'm on my own for now. I need to travel a bit, and then I'm sending you to the South Pole for Sokka."

"Rawwrph," Appa replied disgruntled.

"I know buddy, all they have is seaweed and sea prunes there for you to eat," Aang continued, tying the rope to Appa's horns. "It's why we could never live there even if Katara asked us too. But the South Pole has more for you to eat than where I'm going to be staying. Sokka will take good care of you. I can't ask you to sacrifice for me too."

Appa growled sadly at the waterbender's name. He may have been a great big lumbering animal, but he had just as much a soul as his human companions. He knew she was missing and was dejected as well.

"I know. I miss her too," Aang absentmindedly thumbed the beads at his wrist. He went to the water pump station and filled the ballasts to the brim, the leather squeaking from the strain. Aang jumped up lightly onto Appa's head and called out for Momo. "You coming old monkey? You can stay at the South Pole for a while too. You eat anything."

The lemur happily chattered at Aang and flapped his way to his shoulder.

"Appa, yip yip."

* * *

The forest outside of the Senlin Village in the Earth Kingdom was lush and vibrant. Verdant trees had grown back, overtaking the burnt out path of destruction the Fire Nation had cut through the woods years ago. And it had grown back thicker and faster than it should have with straightforward succession. A forest that should have been simple pines and shrubs was actually full of young oak and hickory. With Hei-Bai's intervention, the forest had grown back in no time at all. If ten years compared to fifty counts as no time.

Aang circled the forest several times looking for the clearing that had the idol of Hei-Bai. He finally spotted it and steered Appa down toward the sanctuary. Appa set down as gently as a ten ton magical creature could. Momo bounded off into the trees in search of fruits and nuts.

There it stood. Over ten feet tall. A perfectly carved statue of the peaceful aspect of Hei-Bai: a panda. Not a panda-cat. Not a panda-horse. Just a panda. The spirits could be so odd.

Aang reverently padded into the circle of small bowing stone worshipers. There were over a dozen smaller panda statues circling the Great Spirit. Aang gingerly touched one of the stones, searching for spiritual energy. It was quiet. A gentle breeze tugged at his robes as he sat in front of the great sculpture.

He tucked his legs into a lotus position. A smile passed his lips and he shook his head a bit, thinking of Katara. No matter how hard she tried, she could never sit lotus. Her hips and thick muscled thighs wouldn't let her. It always annoyed her. By sixteen, puberty had broadened her curves in all the right places. No matter how many times Aang told her she was beautiful and perfect, she always thought she was too heavy. No one ever sees their own splendor.

Aang shifted uncomfortably, thinking of his wife, and refocused. He set his staff in front of his knees on the ground before him. He didn't take his prayer beads out. He wasn't searching for wisdom from past lives. He knew exactly who he needed to speak with. He laid his hands upon his knees, palms peacefully up in meditation. His eyes slid closed as he tried to clear his mind.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

Breathing even. Concentrating on nothing but the flow of his own life rhythms. Relaxing every single muscle and joint in his body, starting from the soles of his feet to the tip of his head. He focused on each chakra, releasing and accepting each of his downfalls and drawbacks. Letting go.

"Avatar," a calm, soft voice sounded in his head. Aang opened his eyes.

* * *

The world was heavy and murky. Everything was tinged slightly chartreuse. He was still in Hei-Bai's forest, but seeing it from the inside. From the Spirit World. Aang felt like gravity was pulling at him more than usual. He knew his bending abilities were gone. The control over air that always made him light on his feet left behind in the Mortal World. Aang was nervous, holding his breath. His mind told him he had nothing to fear, that The Black and White Spirit was a friend and ally. But Aang's heart was pounding against his ribs in alarm anyways. He'd made so many mistakes with the spirits recently. He had overestimated his own importance.

Instead of a stone statue, the giant black and white spirit sat calmly in front of Aang. Deep brown eyes peered at the Avatar from within his furry black mask. Aang bowed his head respectfully. He had never heard Hei-Bai speak before. The voice echoed inside his mind like The Butterfly's, but it was soothing and caring instead of harsh and angry.

"Thank you for coming to me, Hei-Bai," Aang spoke reverently.

"Of course. I will always be at your aid," the Panda replied. "You reminded me of hope and ended the war. Which ended the destruction of my forest. I unjustly took my anger out on the town that deserved it least. But you are not here to reminisce. You are troubled, Avatar."

"Very," he sighed and relaxed. This spirit didn't hate him. "I wanted to help the Gufeng Valley. Do you know of it?"

"Yes, the Air Spirit Hong-Die is the caretaker of that valley." Aang could feel sadness in Hei-Bai's words. "He considered the valley his mate. He cared for it more lovingly than even I do here. I know he was broken by the destruction of the valley. He was once so kind and peaceful."

"He took Katara from me as retribution," Aang responded quietly. "He said as long as his valley was dead and barren, then my wife would be too."

The Panda sat silently for a bit. Aang didn't know what else to say. He couldn't ask for Katara back and he couldn't outright ask Hei-Bai for help. He had to put the needs of the valley and Spirits before his.

"Avatar…the spirits… we can't directly interfere with the actions of one another and their choices with the mortals," he finally whispered though Aang's consciousness. "That's why we have the Avatar… I can't return your Genjin."

"I know, I know," Aang was getting frustrated- there was that name again. "I stopped the fires, cleared the valley of pollution. Nearly killed myself doing it too… but it wasn't enough. Hong-Die? That's his name? He said he's keeping her until the valley is restored. To regrow an entire forest? That could take a century!"

"Ah-ha…" the Panda chuckled. "So that's why you visited my forest… no no, do not look so worried Avatar. I offer my services freely. This is something I *can* do. You say you cleared the valley? As long as it is made fertile, I can bring back the forests. The seed must be present for life to emerge. Hong-Die should not have taken the Genjin, as I should not have taken the villagers all those years ago. I cannot make him give her back, but I can help fulfill his wish. Which may in turn convince him to return the Genjin."

"Oh thank you, Hei-Bai!" the young man jumped up and threw his arms around the furry white neck of the spirit. His black ears twitched he returned the embrace with a huge ebony paw.

"I will be able to enter his valley on the Summer Solstice. We can only enter a mortal place outside our own domains on the year quarters," Hei-Bai continued, looking hard at Aang. "Hopefully the valley will be ready by then and we can satisfy Hong-Die and he will return the Genjin. But you must realize that she may be beyond your reach for the rest of this lifetime."

"I have already begun to accept that fact," Aang responded somberly, then continued and cocked a brow at the ageless spirit. "One more thing, if you don't mind… What in all the elements does 'Genjin' mean? It's been in the back of my mind for years now and all the spirits and even my past lives know it, but I'm clueless!"

"Oh that's simple, Avatar!" Hei-Bai tilted his head curiously at the man, like a puppy watching something interesting. "It's the name of the man you were first married to. Nearly ten thousand years ago. Your love was so strong that it transcended lifetimes and bound your souls. The Genjin has been the soul mate of the Avatar since the 6th cycle."

"Wow," was all Aang could say quietly. He ran his thumb across the beads at his wrist. "No wonder I've always been so drawn to her. And could hear her in my soul. Thank you again, Hei-Bai. I will see you in one month at the Summer Solstice at the Gufeng Valley."

Hei-Bai reached out and touched a single black claw to Aang's arrow. In a flash, the Avatar was back in the Mortal World, blinking up at the blue sky and sunlight filtering through the green leaves. He fell back into the soft leaf litter of the sanctuary, feeling lighter and happier than he had in weeks.

* * *

Early the next morning Aang snuck into the Senlin Village. He pulled the hood of his traveling cloak down over his arrow and slid his hands into a pair of long finger-less fighting gloves Sokka had given him years ago for just such occasions. It had been many years since he had been to this village. Aang hoped the addition of his age and beard would hide is identity well enough. He stowed his staff in the forest and instructed Appa and Momo to stay out of sight.

The village hadn't changed much over the years. It was still small, but vibrant, the damage caused by Hei-Bai long repaired. The late spring fruits and vegetables at the market looked particularly plump and bountiful. Aang suspected Hei-Bai had something to do with it. A few silver pieces later and Aang had a small supply of nuts and dried fruit. A gold piece secured a discrete message to the Fire Lord by messenger hawk. No one there recognized him.

 _Firelord Zuko,_

 _I have acquired aid in our ecological renovation project. It will be incredibly helpful in completing the task in a timely manner. As you know, time is of the essence. The subject of the aid will only be available on June 21st. I know you had told me that work on the project would not begin for another three weeks. This would only leave about a week and a half of preparation before the additional assistance will be accessible. I must press upon you the importance of speeding this project along. The land must be prepared and fertile by the time summer arrives. I will be staying at the rendezvous point awaiting your arrival. Message will have been sent to our southern beneficiary as well._

 _~AA_

Aang sealed the scroll with the private emblem known only to the highest ranking dignitaries that it was from The Avatar. The emblem ensured messages were delivered straight away to Kings, Chiefs, and Lords without being lost in day-to-day mail. He slid it into the protective canister on the hawk's back before the falconer released the messenger to the winds. The message was vague enough that if anyone else intercepted it, they would have no idea what was going on. Aang shouldered his small bag of dried goods and slunk back out of the peaceful town.

* * *

Two days later the Avatar found himself back in the Gufeng Valley. From the distance, Aang could see the tips of the mountain range. They were devoid of the thick noxious clouds that had circled them the first time he had seen the remote location and Aang breathed a sigh of relief at that. He really did succeed in clearing out the valley.

Skirting over the rocky peaks, Aang could clearly observe the entire wasteland spread out before him. Appa was hesitant to cross the plane of the mountainous ridge and Aang was nearly as apprehensive. With a reassuring pat, Aang encouraged his companion on.

It was nothing but a dust-bowl for leagues. From one end of the valley to the other. There were tracks of blackened and scorched earth cutting like rivers across the land. Aang glanced at the faint striping on his own arms, observing the similarities. Burnt from within. Off in the distance stood the dark factory, like a cancerous growth on the land. It was as still as the grave it was.

Aang could make out the single winding stream. It sparkled like a jewel snaking its way through the valley. Apparently without being fed toxic sludge for a few weeks it was able to flush its system. It was a good sign. Aang directed Appa towards the rocky outcrops along the stream that he knew must contain their abandoned gear.

The giant beast settled down near the entrance to the cave and Aang slid off Appa's head with the lemur wrapped around his shoulders. The bison glanced at his jockey and back at the stream. Aang smiled and stooped down to touch the liquid. He pushed some of his bending energy into the water, searching for contaminants.

"It's clean buddy. Safe to drink again," the monk told him. The bison happily lapped at the refreshing stream. Aang examined the banks for the first time. They were flat and wide before tapering up to the surrounding area. "I think this stream used to be a river, buddy. So much of the water was burnt out of the valley. I think we'll have to ship a lot back in, just to jump start the water cycle here again."

"Mmmrawr," was all Appa incoherently replied.

Aang turned to the cave and slipped inside. There were their supplies sitting against the far wall: Appa's saddle, the baskets of food, the extra clothing and bedrolls. Momo was off, tearing into the remnants of the food basket. He chattered in annoyance when he realized he had wiped out the remaining stores weeks ago when the humans had sealed them in the cave. Aang tenderly picked up one of Katara's dresses out of the pack and rubbed it against his cheek. It was soft and still smelled like her, making his heart jump into his throat. He scanned the area and saw the cracks in the stone floor where they had made love for the last time.

"It is what it is, Katara," he choked sadly to the emptiness, rubbing his thumb along the beads at his wrist. "Only time will tell if this works."

He called Appa into the cave and fit the saddle onto his back. He dug though the remaining supplies and found parchment, ink, and a brush and began scribing a message.

 _Sokka,_

 _I am waiting in the Gufeng Valley for Zuko's arrival. He said the teams to begin work should be here within two weeks. On the Summer Solstice, Hei-Bai will come here to aid in the restoration process. It is vital that the valley is prepared by then. Anyone you can send during this time would be greatly appreciated._

 _Please look after Appa and Momo and bring them back upon your return. As I am remaining in the valley, there is no food for them._

 _I know that Katara is the champion of hope, but I cannot place much hope in her successful retrieval. We must place the needs of others before our own in this endeavor or we will not prevail. Please conduct correspondence with Zuko, but leave me out of the planning. It could disrupt the bigger diplomacy between the nations. I'm leaving it to Zuko, his advisers, and anyone else he brings in. I am merely a tool at this point._

 _I look forward to the completion of our goals._

 _~Aang_

As with the message to Zuko, the monk blew across the parchment, drying the ink and carefully rolled it up. He packed up the message and anything he didn't need onto Appa's saddle. He gave the great beast one last hug and scratched Momo's head. The both looked at him forlornly, murmuring in their own animal ways their sadness and encouragement.

"You guys can't stay here," he said to them. "This is something I need to do on my own. Appa, fly straight to the South Pole and find Sokka. You know where you're going. He'll take good care of you boys. I'll see you again in a few weeks."

Appa nodded his huge head in understanding and pumped his paddle-like tail twice before pushing off into the air. He circled once before he turned due south. Aang could see Momo's bright green eyes glinting back at him and tall white ears poking over the side of the saddle.

Aang pulled his boots off and began walking, glider in hand, water ballasts and a simple bag of minimal supplies slung over his shoulder.

* * *

The Avatar spent the next two weeks walking. He was offering himself as penance for the destroyed valley. He would make sure to touch every inch of the valley if he could before work began. It had been many years since the monks had put him through a process like this, but he knew it was something he had to do.

Walk. Meditate. Sleep when it took him, where it took him. Awake and train through all of the different bending forms. He ate very little in fasting and only drank from his fire nation ballasts when necessary. He let the hot sun bronze his pale skin nearly as dark as Katara's.

When he came to the factory he nearly gave it a wide berth, but a splash of blue caught his eye. He had forgotten that in the heat Katara had shucked off her fighting dress. Other than a little dusty, it had been left undisturbed in a neatly folded pile. He added it to his sack.

During his travels he would catch glimpses of other people slowly filtering into the valley. Small Fire Nation balloons with what must have been surveyors and equipment began dotting the sky. Daily messenger hawks could be seen flitting in and out of the valley. He kept out of site for now, marking the passage of time on a small stick he would notch daily at sunrise. He let his hair grow in to help disguise himself for now and would not expose himself until he knew Zuko was here.

During meditations or bending forms he could hear the heavy flutter of scaly wings and clanking, creaking joints around the edges of his consciousness. Watching him.

* * *

Finally Aang saw the huge crimson Royal Air Ship skimming the valley. He snapped open his glider for the first time in weeks and took off into the sky. He pushed the air currents beneath the cerulean fabric, twisting and turning and stooping until he was a blur past the cabin windows. A surprised Firelord laughed at his friend's passing form and sent a crew member to open one of the bay doors. The yellow and orange robed form of the Avatar swooped into the opening and landed lightly before several modestly dressed fire nation workers. Aang smirked, partially surprised to see so many faces… in the back of his mind he had expected armored masks. Old memories.

Zuko met him with outstretched arms. Aang could see the concern tight across his friend's face.

"This is terrible," Zuko whispered to Aang as they embraced. "I've been receiving the reports… but seeing it in person... wow…"

"Yeah," was all Aang could reply as Zuko led him to a private chamber. A guard nodded at them and she opened a large heavy metal door for them.

A hefty table was covered in papers and maps. It looked a mess, but was actually a quite organized chaos. Aang silently scanned over the work. Plans for irrigation, planting, buildings. Legal-looking documents and reparations for work to be completed by Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, and Republic City contractors. This all looked really good. Zuko had put a ton of work into this. Or at least he put a ton of organization into it. Aang knew it wasn't the Firelord who planned all this specifically. He just assigned the right people in the right places and then let them do their jobs.

"You look like crap, buddy! You could nearly pass as a water tribe peasant at this point!" a deep familiar voice laughed from a corner. Aang snapped his head around to see his brother-in-law lounging in a chair with his feet propped up on a second one. "And before you get worried, I left Appa and Momo to be pampered on Kyoshi Island. I couldn't see a way they could be helpful here honestly. Thanks for sending me a ten-ton magical shit-maker and a devious monkey to look after. Like I don't have enough stuff to deal with…"

Aang smiled. He could hear the sarcasm dripping in Sokka's voice. He crossed the room to pull him up into a hug also.

"So you went with the Nilak look, huh?" Sokka laughed and flicked at the beads knotted into the short forks in Aang's beard. "Needs more time. Not quite long enough."

"Yeah, I know. But the fabric broke about a week ago, so I decided to try," Aang spun the beads in the hair on his chin, then ran his fingers through his scalp. "And once this is all done here I'm shaving my head again. I hate this scratchy stuff."

Zuko cleared his throat loudly. Both men glanced over with cocked brows. Zuko just shook his head.

"Anyway," be began as the other two stooped over, "as you can see we have a ton of planning done. I really rushed this when I received your message. Then double timed it when Sokka showed up a few days later on Appa and told me everything he remembered about Hei-Bai. Crews have begun work already. We're going to turn the valley into a huge agricultural hub. I know it won't be a complete natural forest, but I had to sell the bureaucrats something. There are plans for wooded and open grassy areas throughout too, thanks to the environmental engineers I brought in on the project. I hope this will be good enough."

"Thank you Zuko," Aang replied quietly. So much work, secretly just for him. He was speechless and tears were threatening to come again. "There's no way I can ever express my absolute gratitude. All we can do is hope."

* * *

The next two weeks were a flurry of activity. Round the clock crews of mixed nation workers and benders were scattered throughout the valley. Toph had sent metalbenders upon Zuko's request and the factory was quickly cleared of the oil and coal refining equipment. It was agreed to be repurposed for agriculture shipping in due time. The deep crypt was left undisturbed upon decree of the Firelord. He had made some speech about the sealed room and about the honor and nobility of the people who had passed away during the war time factory but never divulged the whole truth. Aang and Zuko would take that to their own graves.

Zuko had given him some other clothing and Aang would jump from one project to another, remaining in disguise. Some days he was assisting the waterbenders with the irrigation systems, ponds, and lakes, other days he was helping earth benders create tunnels through the mountains so travel to and from the valley would be easier. Currently the only ways in and out were along the single river feeding the area or over the mountain range by airship.

Some days he didn't even bend much, planting individual trees and crops by hand like a common nonbender and spreading nutrient rich soils that had been carted in. He was no one. All of the work was for the people and for the valley. He had taken to sleeping in the cave he and Katara had shared. It felt like a lifetime had passed in her absence.

He would see Sokka and Zuko in passing, but they respected his anonymity. Sokka was often deep in conference with various engineers, tweaking plans and procedures as problems arose.

* * *

On the morning of the Summer Solstice Aang arose early. He created a water-mirror and used a water-razor like Katara had shown him and shaved his head smooth and trimmed along his face so that the only hair he had was his forked chinstrap beard. He packed up his plain clothing and put his gold and orange monk's robes back on. He stepped from the cave and snapped open his glider and launched himself into the predawn pink atmosphere.

The valley was still pretty grim, but here and there Aang could see promise. Large swatches of land had been tilled, sown, and fertilized. Small trees in a diverse array of species had been strategically planted. The scorch marks that had marred the land were long gone, hidden by the productivity. Rain had already fallen twice since the start of the project, encouraging the environmental engineers. This showed that providing additional water to the valley would jump start its own water cycle after being unnaturally drained. The ground was no longer a parched dusty wasteland.

All that was left to do was wait.

When sunrise peaked over the valley walls in the early morning Aang could feel a shift in the Spirit World. Aang immediately landed and waited. There was a loud crack and existence itself seemed to split before his eyes. The great Black and White Spirit in all of his furry glory was there before the bowing bald monk. Early risers in a nearby makeshift camp were greeted by the strange sight.

"We've done all that we can to prepare this valley for you. Water, seed, and soil," the Avatar said respectfully, still bent. "If you can find it in your heart to bless this valley with life, we would forever be grateful."

The giant panda nodded and let out a low rumble of agreement. He touched his great black nose to the ground and let out a snuffling snort. Aang could feel the vibrations rumble through the earth. Hei-Bai was using a seismic sense to feel the valley. Satisfied, the four legged black and white bear began walking.

A great wave of vegetation leapt up wherever the bear passed. Wherever seed and plant had been laid, the earth sprang to life. Plants of every shape and texture and shade of earthy brown and green swam across the valley. Flowers of every hue and size sprouted and blossomed in an array of color and fragrance. The humans who were stirring and rapidly awaking their colleagues stared in wonder as the land bloomed to life before their eyes.

Aang tried to follow alongside Hei-Bai, jogging to keep up, but the spirit was moving unnaturally fast. Aang took to the skies to watch the beautiful transformation. People on the ground were cheering excitedly wherever he would pass. When he buzzed Sokka and Zuko's elaborate tents all they could do was laugh and wave. It was amazing.

By sunset the valley was coated in lush, young foliage and saplings. The trio of friends had gathered around a small fire far away from all of the prying eyes outside Aang's cave. They were tossing food and stories and jokes back and forth like old times. They were laughing a little harder and boasting a little louder than usual. It was a tense, forced happiness. The valley was healed, but there was no sign of the Air Spirit or Katara. They had no way of knowing if all their work had paid off in the most important way.

As the last fading streaks of sunlight dipped below the mountain's horizon there was a shift in energy and pressure around them. The fabric of reality split again to reveal Hei-Bai standing before them. Both Zuko and Sokka fell back a little in shock while Aang stood calmly and bowed deeply to the Spirit.

"Thank you Hei-Bai for helping heal this valley," Aang said graciously. "Only time will tell if this will be what this valley needs."

The Panda nodded and was gone in a second burst of light.

* * *

Aang peered into the dimming sky, searching for the other spirit hopefully. The silence was deafening. He felt a firm hand on his shoulder and turned to see Sokka's watery eyes.

"We've done everything we can…" he sighed sadly, an uncharacteristic tear rolling down his face. "I'm afraid Katara is gone for good."

"I knew that going into this," Aang cried back, wrapping his arms around his brother. "This was for the spirits and the valley. Hong-Die, the valley, and the people here were grievously injured. It's the kind of justice the Butterfly felt was necessary. It's not a justice we see as acceptable, but… there are things bigger than even me. And we have to accept that."

"IS THAT SO, AVATAR?!" the grating voice ripped through their minds. Sokka and Zuko hit the ground panicked. Aang stood firmly and resolutely as the gale winds swirled around him. He had no fear anymore. Whatever would come would come. The clanking exoskeleton joints reverberated loudly, echoing through the cave behind the trio as the Butterfly touched down before them. "THIS WAS ALL FOR ME AND MY MATE? INCLUDING ENLISTING THE AID OF ANOTHER SPIRIT?"

"Read my mind and my soul, Hong-Die," Aang resolutely replied, unflinching as the immense arthropod creaked towards him. He threw his arms wide in submission and surrender. "Weigh and measure me. I accept your judgment."

"VERY WELL, AVATAR." The Butterfly reached out to Aang with his shortened antennae and touched the center of his blue forehead.

In a flash, Aang's mind opened to the universe. He could see nothing but the blackness of the void. He could feel the Butterfly's consciousness sliding inside his own. It felt heavy and foul and slimy, riddled with anger and hate. The Butterfly was dissecting his psyche and soul, peeling away ambition and guilt, hope and finally acceptance.

But the farther it prodded, the more relieved it felt. The malice was slipping away, replaced with love and gratitude. The Spirit began to feel as light as the air it commanded again. It released Aang back to the mortal realm and his vision cleared revealing the Butterfly and healing valley before him. Aang could feel Zuko and Sokka' hearts speeding behind him.

"All is forgiven," the voice whispered graciously. The Butterfly's great abdomen expanded and contracted, hissing the clean air though its respiration pores. It flapped its bloody teardrop skulled wings once and its whole body shattered like glass. An explosion of a million black or red butterflies were left in its place, fluttering and flitting off into the night. Off to pollinate all of the new flowers in bloom.

And she was there. On her knees holding her head in one hand, left in the wake of the vanishing insects. Perfect and whole in her white underskirt and bindings.

Aang gasped and ran to her, his heart bursting with elation. He couldn't stop himself. He tackled right into his wife, wrapping his arms around her. He had lost control of his strength and speed and accidentally rolled them into the cool stream nearby. She didn't even have time to react as he squeezed her tight, covering her face in wet kisses.

"AANG!" Katara was finally able to yell at him, gasping through the water, "What's going on?! Let me go!"

"You were gone, I thought you were gone forever. But you're back now." Aang grabbed her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. Tears of joy and relief were pouring down his face. Her body melded against his and he couldn't believe she was really in his arms again. "The Butterfly took you from me, but I healed the valley and he returned you."

"AHEM?!" Zuko and Sokka coughed behind them.

"Well, of course I had a lot of help," Aang continued. Katara's eyes flew wide at the sight of her brother and friend. Aang led her back out of the stream, water dripping from their clothing. He couldn't take his hands off her, as if he let go she would disappear. But he knew her brother needed to make sure she was real too.

"Hi sis, glad to have you back," Sokka said, hugging her tightly too. Katara could tell her brother was holding back emotional tears.

She looked past them and saw the valley for the first time and gasped in shock. A nearly full moon had risen in the late Summer Solstice evening, illuminating everything. She could see clear skies, clean water, and all of the healthy foliage.

"Is this the Gufeng Valley?" she implored. "The last thing I remember is being in that awful factory and… the Butterfly. Oh Spirits, it tried to touch me. I sliced it's antennae off… and then it screeched and reached out again…." She wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered at the awful memory. "And then… nothing… no. not quite nothing... I think I heard you several times Aang... Yes. I remember I could feel you somehow. I... needed to help you... but mostly I was nothing...and now I'm here… What happened?"

"A ton," Zuko answered, finally venturing to interrupt the family reunion. "We have all night to explain."

"Hey Aang…" Sokka butted in, "you were right… that Butterfly was terrifying. I take everything back…"

"Yeah," Zuko agreed, laughing. "Not as bad as Ran and Shaw, but definitely up there."

Aang just gave them dirty looks, reaching out to pull his wife back into his arms. She laid her head against his chest. She fit so perfectly there. He breathed the scent of her hair in deeply, reassuring himself with every sense that she was really here. He'd never let her go again if he could help it.

Katara wrapped herself in her husband's warmth, relishing his strong arms and muscled chest. She could hear his strong heartbeat. It beat in time with hers. After the emptiness of the void she had been able to sense around the edges of her mind, nothing else in the world mattered. Something unfamiliar brushed against her forehead and she looked up inquisitively at whatever had bumped against her. Aang's beard was longer than she remembered and there was a pair of sky blue beads braided into it, making two short points. Her beads. Her heart nearly burst with emotion and she could feel tears stinging her eyes.

"Aang!" she cried loudly as she focused on them and realized what they were. "You're wearing my beads!"

"Of course I am," he smiled and kissed her forehead gently. "I am you husband, aren't I, my perfect Water Tribe Princess…"

"OOGIES!" Sokka yelled at them, mocking them. Katara gave him a dirty look and a rude hand gesture. Aang took it a step farther.

"Hey Sokka, Fuck off," Aang replied and feasted on his wife's sweet mouth while Zuko laughed and Sokka groaned.


	8. Reconnecting with Friends

**They got Katara back! Short and playful banter among friends. We get to see another old cast member in person! Who will it be?**

* * *

 _Reconnecting with Friends_

The moon rose high, bathing the newly refurbished landscape in its soft glow and the four friends laughed and talked late into the hot summer night. Their bedrolls were in a ring around a small fire on the bank of the stream. It had risen significantly due to the fresh water that had been brought into the valley. The valley was mostly silent still. It would take time for animals and insects to find their way back.

They laid on their sleeping pads chatting away, telling the waterbender about everything she had missed in the last two months. Sokka and Zuko laughed as they explained how they couldn't take Aang seriously when he had said a butterfly spirit had bested him, but then reneged when they finally saw the monster for themselves. Katara's hands ghosted along Aang's faint burn scars lovingly as he described the torment he had put his body through trying to heal the valley. She chided her husband that their bedrolls still 'smelled like Sokka's tent' – to which the brother feigned offense- but she melted with affection when the airbender sheepishly admitted that he couldn't bring himself to wash her scent out of them.

They were exhausted, but every time someone mentioned they were going to turn in, someone else started in on a new story. Aang would punch the ground, flinging another log onto the fire with a rocky thrust. He couldn't bring himself to be outside of Katara's reach. The couple respected their friends and reclined on separate mats, but a blue tattooed hand was constantly caressing dark skin or chocolate locks. It wasn't until the moon sank low in the western sky and the edges of the eastern sky were just starting to turn rosy did they finally fall quiet in their bedrolls, sleep taking them for just a few hours past dawn.

Aang and Katara's fingers were intertwined across the small distance between them, their energies freely flowing back and forth, sharing their minds' interludes. They played in each other's dreams together, the two lovers. No nightmares plagued their rest, only happy memories. Penguin sledding, dancing in the fire nation, riding gliders in tandem, sparring or cooperative bending. Love making.

* * *

*nudge*nudge*nudge*

Something was poking Aang in the shoulder. He moved his hand absentmindedly to swat it away before wrapping back into the warmth in front of him.

*nudge*nudge*nudge*

*swat*

"Go'way," he grumbled. His mind was slowly coming back into focus. He could hear chuckling. He could feel the smooth warm skin under his hand and cold hard ground beneath his body. Fragrant curls were tickling his nose. Something soft and warm and inviting was pressed like a pillow against his groin and he pulled it in tighter to his growing erection.

Wait. What?

His eyes shot open and he blinked into the bright morning. A shadow was cast over him, looming. His vision quickly focused as he grabbed at whatever was in front of him tightly, reacting in groggy surprise.

It was Katara, still peacefully asleep in her bindings and underskirt, nestled against his body. She was really here again. Her perfect soft form melded flawlessly against his bare torso. He had pulled himself off his bedroll and snuggled up to her in his sleep subconsciously.

Straight across from him was Zuko, rekindling the fire and chortling. He poked at something on the fire grill and checked a tea pot. His shaggy dark hair was still tussled from sleep. That meant….

Aang slowly turned his head to see what was causing the shadow over him and his wife with wide eyes. All amorous intentions vanished from his body and psyche.

"Hey, oogie-master, I thought you promised you weren't going to do anything to my sister in front of us… Avatar's Oath or some BS…" *poke*poke*poke* "Which I think you break EVERY time you say that…"

Sokka was poking his brother-in-law in the back with the blue ball of his distinctly Water Tribe club. He snickered again like an adolescent teenager when he realized the double entendre. Aang pushed the club away again. Katara stirred and sighed. She could hear her brother. And feel her husband pressed tight against her backside. She giggled a bit too. She knew exactly what was going on. She opened her eyes and saw Zuko across the way, shaking his head as he poured some morning tea.

"I haven't done anything," he grumbled back at Sokka, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment anyways. He buried his face in Katara's hair and sang childishly, "Sweeeeetieee. Your brother's picking on me again. Tell him to stop."

"Knock it off Sokka," she pleaded sarcastically, still not getting up yet and snuggling tighter into Aang's arms. "You know Aang is … a delicate instrument…"

That did it. Sokka was on the ground laughing, and Zuko was choking on his tea.

Aang shoved her and rolled away, standing up and stepping over his laughing brother-in-law to snatch the tea from Zuko's hand.

"Jerks. All of you." He scowled down at his laughing wife. "That joke's like ten years old. Toph says it once… I swear…"

Katara pushed herself up also and stretched into the air, her back arching. Aang couldn't help it, his irritation vanishing into lust as he eyed her curves over the rim of his teacup. He had missed her so much. In so many ways.

She smirked and sauntered up to him, tugging at his blue belt sash and pressing a whispered kiss to his ear. "I enjoy your delicate instrument… maybe you'll let me play it later…"

"You're cruel," he bit back, wrapping his free hand around her waist, "you know that right?"

"Oo—oogies!" Sokka coughed, pulling himself to his feet again.

Aang saw the devious twitch in his wife's beautiful cerulean eyes as she cocked her head and flicked her wrist. A small wave of water splashed her brother from the river. Without looking, she clenched her fist, freezing the water on contact.

"Gah! Not fair!" the Water Tribe warrior yelped and grabbed at his pants.

"Aw… looks like I'm not the only delicate instrument," Aang cooed as he smirked over his wife's shoulder.

The Firelord tilted his head and gave Katara a confused look, "I don't get it… You've hit me with water plenty of times before…"

Katara smiled and bent the water back off her brother. "Remember how I defeated your sister?" Zuko nodded slowly, picturing the frozen wave. "I've gotten better at controlling the ice since then."

Zuko's eyes went wide with the realization of what Katara had done. Sokka was trying to rub warmth back into his groin.

"Wow…and I thought you were terrifying when you bloodbent the Southern Raider Captain." He instinctively dropped his hands to shield himself. "Remind me again not to get on your bad side!"

"Oh don't get your honor in a twist. I didn't hurt him," Katara laughed. "Just made him… uncomfortable. Some frosty britches is all."

Sokka grumbled some curses at his sister as he stomped by her. He poured himself some tea and pulled a short dagger from his boot, stabbing a sausage off the fire grill with it.

"Flippin' benders…Your wife's a jerk, Aang," he scowled and bit into the meat. "Gah! Hot!"

"Of course it is. It just came off the fire!" Katara rolled her eyes and looked to the sausage, twirling her hand a bit. "Here, let the 'flippin' bender' help." She cooled the remaining water in the steaming meat. He stuck his tongue out at her anyways before taking another bite. She summoned a pair of apples from a nearby basket for herself and Aang, pulling at the water in the food. He thanked her and kissed her forehead.

Katara stepped over and stabbed a sausage for herself and blew across it, cooling it the same way she had cooled Sokka's. Zuko motioned to his own, with a cocked brow and a hopeful grin. Katara giggled and twirled her hand once for him too. Nothing beats good friends.

"So, I was thinking, Zuko," Aang began between crisp, tart crunches, "If we could take a balloon, Sokka could drop us off on Kyoshi Island for Appa and Momo before heading to the South Pole. And we can continue on our 'Spirit Moon.' We're as done as we're going to be here."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Zuko glared up at his friends, squinting through his foggy injured eye. "I mean… you barely made it through one angry spirit alive…"

"We know the risks, Zuko," Katara replied, squeezing her hand around Aang's. "We're still learning through everything we do. And this is something we have to see through to the end." Aang nodded in solidarity. "Wherever or whenever that end may be. We're the last nomads. Let us be that for just a bit longer before the pressures of Republic City come crashing down and cementing us there."

"I know you pulled out a lot of stops to help us here and we are eternally grateful," Aang continued. "But you have to agree it was the right thing to do, even if it had nothing to do with getting Katara back. And it will be a prosperous investment for your nation."

"I know," Zuko replied. He ran his palm across the scarred side of his face and into his messy hair, slightly exasperated. "It's just… I thought we were done with this kind of crazy shit. I don't know if I can handle another frantic rush to save you guys."

"Zuko," Sokka laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, then started counting on his fingers. "You're the Firelord. You're one of the creators of Republic City. You're best friends with The Avatar, the soon-to-be Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, the greatest Earthbender, and the greatest and Waterbender the world has ever seen. We'll never be done with this 'crazy shit.' And I'm sure we'll be frantically rushing to save you from time to time for the next fifty years."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," Zuko grumbled at the ground, but resigned himself to the truth.

"You're ZUKO!" Katara laughed, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight enough to make him gasp. "You don't like anything!"

Zuko just smiled and hugged her back.

* * *

The trip to Kyoshi Island was easy and uneventful. It took several days longer than they expected surprisingly. Aang and Katara had forgotten how much slower the airships moved than Appa. Thankfully their arrival was no longer met by foaming at the mouth fans or squealing girls. As much of celebrities as the trio may have been, they weren't a new site. Many of the island's inhabitants had been at the couple's wedding just two months before.

Suki was no longer on Kyoshi Island, having left the sanctuary to serve on Firelord Zuko's Royal Guard. It was one of the reasons why things eventually fell apart between Sokka and her. But over time they had been able to remain friends. He had little reason to stay on the island longer than the amount of time it took for Aang and Katara to depart the ship. After a heartfelt farewell and promises to stay safe, Sokka continued south to bring their father the good news.

It was easy for Aang and Katara to keep a low profile as they traveled through the village, wrapped in heavy winter cloaks and furs, their summer clothing stored away. Aang laughed remembering how Katara had packed the clothes that he thought wouldn't be needed. This far south of the equator, they had just passed the Winter Solstice instead of the Summer Solstice. But knew they wouldn't be able to keep the charade up forever. Their whole purpose in coming here was to get Appa… and not just anyone could walk off with the ten ton flying bison. Well, Appa and Momo… but that chittery monkey was known to wander off with just about anyone who had a moon peach.

They found their way to the Temple of Kyoshi where they met Magistrate Oyaji. His beard was longer and whiter, his face more wrinkled, but he smiled warmly when he saw the pair. He was sitting at a long desk, rustling through papers when they came in. He slowly stood to greet them, age weighing heavily on his frame.

"Avatar Aang and the always lovely Master Katara!" he welcomed them happily, bowing respectfully to the pair before giving each chaste embraces "It is always a pleasure to see you. Your wedding was lovely. When Master Sokka came about a month ago with Appa he seemed quite distraught. But I assumed it was because he didn't want to have to babysit the bison while you were… preoccupied…" He sniggered suggestively at the newleyweds..

"What?! That's not… oh man…" Aang predictably stammered and blushed. Katara reddened too, but more out of annoyance.

"What Aang is trying to say," she breathed slowly and remained dignified, "Is that we were on *other* duties that took us away from the ability to care for our furry friends. Thank you very much for taking care of them for us. I hope they weren't that much trouble."

"Yeah, what she said," Aang muttered through clenched teeth in a fake grimace while rubbing the back of his neck absentmindedly. He suddenly felt someone running up behind them. He recognized the light footsteps.

"Aang! Katara!" came a high pitched squeal directly precluding arms wrapping around their necks, jostling all three heads together.

"Hi Ty Lee," Katara choked out, but laughed, hugging her once former adversary.

"Look at you kids! Aren't you so cute together!?" Her ever bubbly personality couldn't be overshadowed by her heavy black, white, and red Kyoshi makeup and thick armor. "Having fun on your honeymoon? We've taken care of Appa real good for you guys."

"Yeah… thanks… Ty Lee." Aang's lips were starting to match his arrow. "Think you could loosen up a bit?"

"Oops! Sorry!" she yipped, letting go. "I forget my own strength some times."

Both Aang and Katara breathed heavily, thankful for the oxygen again.

"What are you doing back on Kyoshi Island?" Aang ventured, rubbing at his throat a little.

"Oh Oyaji always has me come back at least once a year to give refresher classes on Chi-Blocking," she replied happily and tugged at her signature braid a bit. "And since so many were traveling back here together after your wedding, it was the perfect time to catch a ride back. Not everyone has access to air ships or sky bison…"

"Makes sense." Katara responded, "Whenever we're without Appa we're pretty grounded. We forget how difficult travel can be."

"Even by air ship, it takes longer than we're used to," Aang added. "But now we're looking to hit the road again."

"Honeymoon not over yet?" She leered at the couple. This time they didn't blush. Banter like this between friends was expected. "By the way, nice beads."

"Heh heh heh," Aang chuckled. He puffed up his chest and jutted his chin out a bit, posing like some muscle man. "Sokka thinks they're manly."

"I think they're adorable!" Ty Lee giggled. "It's so cute!"

Katara stifled a laugh as she watched her husband's ego deflate in front of her.

"Aw sweetie," she sighed, wrapping her arm around his waist and tilting his sullen face towards hers. They ARE cute and adorable AND manly." She gently kissed his nose. "Ty Lee thinks EVERYTHING is cute and adorable."

"She's right, you know," Ty Lee quipped in her squeaky voice. "And you two are the cutest. But you must at least stay the night and have dinner with us. You don't need to be in such a rush!"

"Please do stay the night," Oyaji consented behind them. They had forgotten about the magistrate in the flurry of all the energy that comes with Ty Lee. "We have several updated guest houses available. You'll remember from your stay here last time they're not much more than four walls and a roof with some beds…nothing as grand as I'm sure you've stayed in at various palaces… but they're comfortable and available."

"And private," thought Aang secretly. He hadn't spent a night alone with his wife in over two months. His fingers slid along Katara's yellow belt sash and he caught her eye. He recognized the suggestive glint and knew they were on the same page.

"That sounds lovely," Katara replied sweetly. "Thank you."

* * *

The couple spent the remainder of the afternoon sightseeing and cajoling with their old friend. They stopped at the market to replenish supplies for the next leg of their journey. Not much had changed since the first time they had been to the village. Quaint, peaceful people who were cheerful. There was a man arguing with a random pole, warriors were training in the dojo. Katara laughed when Aang insisted on carrying all the supplies to 'make up for being a big jerk the first time.'

Ty Lee led them to where Appa and Momo were. There were plenty of fields and woods around Kyoshi Village that were perfect for their furry friends. They were enjoying the winter sun out behind a large barn that the two would sleep in at night. When Appa saw Katara he bounded to her like a great big polar bear puppy, knocking her to the ground and covering her in huge sloppy kisses with a tongue as big as she was. Momo was sitting in one of the barn windows and looked up from his berry bowl for about two seconds, chattered a hello, and resumed turning his muzzle purple.

"What?" Aang huffed, holding his arms out waiting for his welcome, "no love for me?"

Appa rolled his big brown eyes toward his oldest friend and just snorted at him and continued crushing Katara with affection.

"Wow…" Ty Lee commented, perplexed, arms folded across her chest and leaning on one leg, "I've never seen Appa react that way. He always pounces on you first!"

Katara stopped laughing and pushed the giant beast off of her and stood. She bent as much of the slobber off her as she could. The couple exchanged pained glances. Katara knew how broken Aang had been when she was taken. Although she felt no passage of real time in the void, she still…felt him somehow. Aang had shared with his friends what Hei-Bai had said about Katara being the 'Genjin' that first night around the campfire. It made perfect sense.

She nodded at Aang. He returned the gesture and turned to Ty Lee.

"That's because… for the last two months, Katara was gone," he admitted solemnly.

"Gone?" The painted warrior tilted her head, long braid swinging back and forth. "What do you mean? You two have been off on your secret honeymoon…"

"The real secret is," Katara slipped her hand into Aang's. She squeezed it reassuringly. "Is that we're on a mission to fix areas that have been damaged the most by the old war. There are spirits across the globe that have been grievously wronged."

"It's the Avatar's duty to be the bridge between the Mortal World and the Spirit World ," Aang added. "The first spirit we came across was really angry. He kidnapped Katara as punishment until I was able to heal his valley."

"Oh my Elements!" Ty Lee gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "I'm so sorry!" She ran and threw her arms around Katara again. "I wish you had told me! I would have come to help!"

"It's ok, Ty Lee," Katara sunk into her friend's embrace. The boys had just been so happy and excited and relieved that she hadn't thought much about the experience. The terror of what had actually happened to her had never really sunk in, but feeling her friend's pain somehow finally shook her. It wasn't her own fear, but the fear of what it had done to others. And Ty Lee hadn't even known! Her chest clenched and a tear rolled down her face at the realization of what could have been. "I'm here safe and sound. There would have been nothing you could have done."

"We kept it really low profile so we didn't anger the spirit more," Aang added, putting a hand on Ty Lee's shoulder. "But we did it, and we learned from the experience. I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. *Very* few people know what happened, and we'd like to keep it that way. Just Sokka, Zuko, Toph, Hakoda, and a handful of Fire Nation healers… well, they're Water Tribe obviously…"

"As you wish," Ty Lee stepped back and bowed respectfully, composing herself. But then she smirked up at them, "So that's the real reason your auras are so red and you two are spending the night… been apart too long, huh?"

Aang could only palm his forehead and laugh while Katara scowled.


	9. Kyoshi Island Interlude

**FYI. Lemon. Heavy sex scene...very heavy... but an important one... Please R &R!**

* * *

 _Kyoshi Island Interlude_

Dinner with the warriors was calm and relaxed. They shared stories and Aang performed silly bending stunts- including the marbles in an airstream trick, much to everyone's chagrin. Several times they had to quash the idea that there might be another little airbender on the way. Yes they wanted children. No, now was not the right time for them.

As the meal wound down and places were cleared, Aang slipped his hand over his wife's. They exchanged sly looks and quietly excused themselves after graciously thanking their hosts.

The guest houses were just a few buildings down from the dining hall, the shadows between them deepening in the early-setting winter sun. Snow had gathered in little piles along doorsteps and at the foot of trees. Katara clutched at her cloak and shivered.

"What a sad excuse for a Water Tribe Princess I am," she laughed, rubbing her hands together and huffing foggy breath into her cupped hands. "I've been up north for way too long- I'm not as used to the cold anymore."

"Here, let me." Aang wrapped his hands around hers, warming them ever so gently with precisely controlled firebending. He smirked at her and teased, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone… Princess."

She looked up into his soft grey loving eyes and was mesmerized. Sure, she had seen them a thousand times before, had shared a thousand kisses and a thousand moments of love, but right now she was suddenly speechless. He wasn't the most glamorous or sexy man she had ever seen, but to her, he was beautiful and perfect. Her eyes darted back and forth, taking in every detail of the moment. The shape of his lips, the touch of his hands, the way the hood of his cloak cast his arrow into a hidden shadow. She reached up and stroked the side of his face, feeling his beard. He had been growing it long enough that it was softening a bit, no longer as scratchy. He smiled and nuzzled his face against her palm and she trailed her fingertips along his jaw until they reached her beads. They were his beads now and she smiled at the thought.

"You can warm me up whenever you want, Avatar." Her voice came out breathy and heavy, making something in the pit of Aang's stomach clench with his frustrated desire. His heart was caught in his throat. This was the first time they had actually been completely alone together since before she had been taken.

Her face was so close to his. Her lips were slightly parted and he could feel her hot breath against his cheeks, the scent of the vanilla dessert they had shared wafting faintly in the haze. The only thing that he knew in that moment was that he needed her mouth against his, needed to drink in that steamy sweet mist escaping from between those pink lips. His hands were on her cheeks and sliding under the hood of her cloak and into her soft hidden hair. He pulled her head towards his roughly while stooping to close the distance, being so much taller than her.

Before she knew it, Katara was forcibly pressed up against the wall of whatever building was closest while her husband's hungry mouth was crashing into hers. His teeth gripped at her lip, pulling so he could run his tongue along hers. His hands where under her cloak, exploring her body like an overanxious teenager, one hand gripping her rear, pulling her hips to his, the other kneading her breast through the heavy blue dress. All she could do was grab his waist in return and moan her want into his mouth.

* * *

Somehow they found themselves stumbling up the few steps into the guest house that had been offered to them. Lanterns had been lit for them ahead of time and their packs, supplies and gear had already been stowed inside the building. A fire had been prepared in the heat stove, smoke rising from an exhaust vent out the side of the building. Fumbling with the latch on the door, the couple nearly fell into the small bungalow.

"You'd think we'd be better at this by now," Katara giggled as she tripped on the cloak Aang had already shucked from her shoulders and kicked out of her boots.

"Less talk. More…" Aang replied by covering her mouth with another deep kiss.

Katara undid the clasp to Aang's cloak, letting it fall away as well. She clutched at the belt sash that kept his torso robes tight. Soon there was a splash of autumn hued material littering the floor with a single blue belt fluttering over it, like a river cutting though a valley. Her belt followed shortly and he undid the buttons holding her wrap dress closed under her right breast. She shuddered as he ran his hands under the material and over her ribs, pushing the blue cloth away. But hands not found skin yet- they both still had long sleeved beige wool tunics on to cut down the winter chill.

In the scuffle to peal the tunics off each other, Katara's energy felt a distracting pull. Something was different about the guest house from the last time they had stayed here. There was a large bath basin in the corner of the small building. A privacy screen in lovely green and yellow bamboo prints was concealing it, but Katara could feel the water in the piping laid deep below the frost layer.

"Aang, there's a bath basin in the corner…"

Aang stopped pulling at his tunic, one arm caught awkwardly in the sleeve. His bearded chin and boyish smile poked out from under the hem of the long shirt, face still partially hidden in its folds. Katara giggled and pushed the tunic up all the way, helping him out of it. Her tunic and underskirt had already found its way to the floor. The only thing remaining between her and the air were her chest bindings and leggings. Her dark flesh was bathed in the flickering golden light of the lanterns, casting shadows and highlighting every curve and toned muscle across her body. She was intoxicating.

"I haven't had a real hot bath in over a month…" Aang said, finally tossing aside the tunic.

"We have a whole night to ourselves," Katara prodded, untying the knot to her bindings.

Aang reached over and tugged at the loose end until it gave way, letting gravity pull the cloth fluttering to the ground. Her breasts were as soft and perfect as he remembered. Katara's eyes ticked back and forth across her husband's broad, lean chest and stomach, really seeing ALL of the damage for the first time. Somehow in the last several days between friends and travel the couple hadn't actually been this bare in each others' presence. They were both lost in inspecting each other. Katara's fingertips traced along the scars that marred her husband's beautiful body while Aang's hands found their way along her ribs and cupping her breasts, running his thumbs gently over her soft nipples. They pebbled at his touch.

"You really tore yourself apart trying to get me back…" Katara gasped quietly.

"And I'd do it again a thousand times over," Aang replied, pulling her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and melding her soft flesh to his. She laid her head against his chest, listening to his breathing and steady heartbeat. His beads were brushing against her forehead. She tilted her head up and smiled.

"I think someone needs a 'healing session'…"

"That sounds wonderful."

Katara turned and slid from his arms and started towards the bath basin, her long chocolate braid swinging back and forth across her spine. Aang was mesmerized by its sway matching in time to her hips and followed her. As she reached over to turn the spigot on for the water, he slid his hands along her heart-shaped rear and hooked his thumbs into the edge of her legging on either side of her hips. He pressed his ever stiffening need against her backside. He kissed her neck and nibbled at her shoulder. She arched back into him pleasantly, enjoying the feel of his want.

Aang reached back up and tugged at the tie at the end of her braid and carefully unwound the weave until her hair was a fluffy sheen down her back. He pushed the soft tresses over the side of one shoulder and began to trail hot kisses across the blades and down her spine. As he did he slowly peeled the leggings down her hips, exposing the remaining flesh. His hands were caressing the outside of her toned legs as the tight coverings slid to the floor. Thighs. Calves. Ankles. She stepped out of each side in turn as he kissed the dimples at the small of her back, just above the mounds of her cheeks.

Aang was on his knees behind her and steadied himself against the edge of the deep, large basin with one hand and ran the other up the inside of her legs, now following the path in reverse. He stopped right before he would have brushed into her center. She could feel him asking permission inside her own mind.

Yes was her silent reply.

Her moan of pleasure was swallowed up by the sound of the cold water splashing loudly into the basin as his fingers ghosted across her folds. Back and forth he ever so lightly coaxed the moisture from her. His touch was as light as feathers, barely there, but deliciously pleasurable. He cautiously slid a single finger into her and stroked the hot walls. She whimpered as he withdrew from her. He shoved the leggings across the floor so she wouldn't trip and turned her body to face him. He kissed the hollow of her hip lightly, knowing it was one of her favorite places to be caressed. The soft dark curls of her sex were right there, begging to be stroked and played with.

She was leaning against the cold metal tub, nearly sitting on it. She gazed down at stormy eyes darkened by lust and love and brushed her fingers across her husband's bald, tattooed head. He reached between her legs again and spread her thighs before him. Before she could protest, his face and tongue darted between her legs and lapped across her nub. She shivered and pulled away.

"Aang… must you?" Something about his mouth against her that way had always made her slightly uncomfortable. It gave her great pleasure, and she enjoyed doing the same for him, but for some reason she couldn't imagine that he actually wanted to do it to her.

"How many times have I told you," he smiled and rested his cheek against her hip, "that I WANT to do this?"

"Fine…"

Aang returned to her center, twirling her curls with his fingers and licking at her folds. He nibbled and sucked at her nub and knew he was doing the right thing when he felt her hand at the back of his head and she arched her hips towards him. He loved tasting her and pleasuring her in every way possible. He slid two fingers into her and pumped against her walls in sync with his mouth. Every stroke sent shockwaves of satisfaction through her body, eliciting soft moans from her throat. She leaned back with closed eyes and let herself enjoy the sensations without guilt.

Her pleasure was dancing along that shining edge, the precipice that could either be contently satisfied to remain in that gentle ache forever, or if pushed just too far, crash and burn into a need for absolute completion. Her attentive lover held back, letting her ride the rolling wave of ecstasy without crashing into the shore of uncontrollable necessity.

Aang pressed his hand against the side of the metal basin and carefully divided his concentration between satisfying his wife and warming their bath. Katara was so wrapped up in bliss that she didn't notice the water slowly heating until the humid mist was rising around her, curling the tendrils of hair that had fallen loose around her face.

Suddenly, both of Aang's hands were cupped around Katara rear and she shrieked in shock as she was lifted off the ground and dumped backwards over the side of the tub into the steaming water. The tub was deep and large, with plenty of room for two. She popped back out of the water sputtering and pawing her hair out of her eyes. Somehow Aang had stripped his pants and was already in the basin with her by the time she could focus again. Crazy fast as the wind are airbenders. His Cheshire grin was inches from her face.

"Aang!" Katara splashed at him.

"What?" Aang reached over and tucked a ringlet behind her ear. "I thought we were going to get a bath?"

"You're impossible." She shoved his hand away with a laugh. "I hate you."

"I love you too," he moved back in on her, pushing his body between her knees and trapping her against the metal edge of the tub. Katara could feel his hardness twitch against her inner thigh. "Now, where were we?"

Katara reached up and pulled his mouth to hers with hungry kisses. Her palms were rubbing across his chest and grabbing at his shoulders as his hands were squeezing at her breasts. Their energies crashed into each other, bodies submerged in the water which began to glow faintly. It wasn't just Katara's hands that emitted the healing energy- her whole body was tingling with it.

"Woah, you ok, Katara?" Aang asked the radiant woman in his arms.

"What?" Katara parroted back at him, "I thought you needed a healing session?"

"I'm fine now, it's just some scarring. No one will ever see it under my robes but yo-," he gasped as she swept her hand across his sternum and pushed that tantalizing and seductive energy into him. He shuddered at her touch. It was so strong and sweet and tugged at his very soul, releasing his most primal wants and desires. He couldn't help but to comply as she pushed him back with hand and mouth and energy and pinned him against the wall in turn. She was straddling his lap, his sex pressing hard against hers but not finding the entrance.

"You got to play," she whispered into his mouth as he whimpered and squirmed against her, "now it's my turn."

"Yes ma'am."

Katara slowly and deliberately ran her hands along his shoulders and his arms, holding herself above him. Her breasts were swinging so tantalizingly close to his face that he just had to reach up and nibble at the flesh, nuzzling against them like the soft pillows they were. Her glowing fingers trailed back down his chest again, tickling across his ribs and down the smooth plane of his stomach. Wherever she touched, his energy spiked along with hers, flash boiling the water around the area. Soon the water was rolling and bubbling like a spa.

She scooted off his erection and wedged herself between his legs as her hands found his hips and began massaging toward his center. Her fingertips skipped over his most sensitive member and rubbed down between his thighs. He bucked slightly in frustration and Katara giggled. She just felt so good, all of that energy all over him. He gazed into those big blue pools filled with mischievous want. She carefully drew her hands to the surface and angled them, scooping the water with her bending. The liquid obeyed her command and suddenly Aang could feel the cool air against his now exposed manhood.

"I can divide my concentration too, sweetie…" Katara's one hand was wrapped around his shaft, her thumb sliding back and forth over the sensitive head. He moaned deeply in satisfied relief. Her other hand was holding the waters back as she sank her head towards him. She kissed the head that twitched and pulsed reflexively towards her. Her lips grazed along the column and finally slid her hot tongue along the flesh.

Aang's hands had been hanging on to the sides of the tub in restrained anticipation, but now were at the base of her skull, sinking into her hair as she took him suddenly and completely into her mouth. Her doing this here, in this way seemed like an awesomely terrible idea. But he trusted her. And she trusted him. He pulled her hair back from her face and held it lovingly out of the way as she worked on him with her mouth.

She continued holding the waters at bay while lapping at him. She loved pleasuring him this way. Taking him in, tasting him, making him beg for more. He was completely at her mercy. With her healing energies she could easily feel how close he was to completion. Or maybe it was just through their spiritual connection. Either way she knew exactly how to bring him to explosive climax. She could feel that he was near the brink in his twitching muscles and hitched breathing.

He knew he wouldn't last long, with her sucking and pulling at him. It had been over two months since they had last made love. She would take him as deep as possible and swirl her tongue up and down the shaft while gently cupping and massaging his sack, sending waves of pleasure though his gut. He was instantly so close his breath was catching in his throat and his heart was racing in time with her pumping. He couldn't decided if he wanted to hold back and let himself be immersed in the anticipation longer or let go to this priestess of carnal pleasure.

"Katara, I can't-" he gasped

Shhh… he felt her whisper through his spirit. And then he was gone, releasing himself to her, letting her swallow him down. He threw his head back in a final cry as his mind went completely blank to the void that it would fall into during those last moments of pure ecstasy.

Katara was all the cosmic energy he would ever need.

She withdrew from him and the hot water gently flowed back over him. He laid back in the tub, with closed eyes, completely undone before her. The energy in the water slowly dissipated and calmed. She sat up and gently touched his sternum, feeling his heart return to its regular rhythm. He covered her hand with his and smiled, holding her hand to his heart. He tugged at her wrist a bit and she understood. She leaned back over him and planted light kisses against his lips. She sank into his arms, resting against his chest, the steamy water enveloping her body.

Aang's eyes slid open and he sighed deeply at the sight of his soul mate lying so beautifully and peacefully before him. Her face was flushed with exertion, passion, and the intense heat of the waters. Her fingers were reflexively curling open and closed, kneading at his chest. Her hair splayed out around her shoulders, floating on the surface. He reached out and combed his fingers through the fluffy hair.

"I don't think I can take the scaring away," Katara sighed, gingerly touching a faint stripe on his chest. "There's some sort of spiritual energy blocking the last edges of healing."

"I don't care. All that matters is that you're here. I missed you so much," Aang said suddenly, clutching her tightly as an unexpected tear stung his cheek. "I thought I had lost you forever. I thought I'd never feel your touch again."

"But you didn't," she wriggled into his embrace tighter and made feathery snowflakes dance across his skin in stark contrast to the near boiling bath waters. "I never left. I was always right here." She covered his heart with her hand. He could feel her love and affection pouring through his soul.

Katara sat back up and smirked at him, a soft and caring look in her eyes. She reached to the side tray standing next to the basin and found a poofy beige bay harvested sponge. There were colorful bottles of fragrant lye soaps sitting there as well. She uncorked and sniffed each bottle before settling on one she liked. She soaked the sponge before pouring some of the soap onto it.

Aang could smell the spicy aroma of the soap as Katara worked it into a sudsy lather. She slowly and languorously scrubbed the sponge across his chest and stomach. Katara gently washed down his hips to his groin, carefully cupping and kneading him delicately. She tickled at his sensitive inner thigh and all the way down to his feet and back up. She leaned him forward and massaged across his shoulders and back, rubbing healing energy into his tired and tight muscles and his old glossy lightening scar. He sighed pleasant relief into her neck. Her tender simple gesture was so full of love and compassion. She intertwined her fingers with his and held his arm up and curled into him while she continued to cleanse his skin.

He pulled her hips with his free hand and sat Katara against his lap, just the slightest twinges of need returning at the feel of her soft flesh. He knew it would be raging again soon and clamped it down for now. Aang pulled her hair over the side of her shoulder and nibbled at her neck. He bent a small globe of water from the tub and carefully poured it through her hair. He went to reach for a bottle on the table but his hand stopped in mid air.

"Here, this one," Katara giggled, sensing his confusion at all things hair care related. These weren't her typical conditioners. She snatched up one of the bottles and placed it in his hand.

He massaged the soap through her hair from root to tip. He wanted to return the gentle caresses she had offered him. The suds trailed down her back from her hair and he scrubbed along her shoulders and down her spine with just his hands instead of the sponge. He snaked his hands under her arms to fondle the slick foam across her breasts. He gripped at the flesh and squeezed until it puckered between his fingers. He flicked his thumbs across her nipples until they peaked and she shivered into him. He released one of her breasts and his fingers explored along her ribs and stomach and followed down into her soft lower curls. He slipped fingers inside her again and strummed a few times. Just enough to make her gasp an scowl at him when he pulled away.

Katara pulled the plug from the bottom of the basin and released the sudsy waters. Aang bent clean water from the spigot and heated it before rinsing it through his wife's long tresses and across her body. Katara did the same for him, but used carefully controlled ice razors to skim along his scalp until it shined. She stepped from the tub and reached for a fluffy towel and wrapped it around her body while Aang sat in the draining waters, just watching her move.

Katara sat on the nearby bed, wrapped in nothing but the white towel, contrasting sharply with her dark skin. She began running a brush through her hair, slowly bending the remaining water from it. When she caught Aang's eye, she recognized the hungry gleam that wasn't quite satisfied. She returned the hard stare and he shivered.

"You know," Aang said, leaning his torso over the edge of the basin, resting his face in his tattooed hands while staring intently at his wife, "I thought I'd lost you... What are we waiting for?"

Katara stopped brushing her hair and set the brush on the bedside table.

"What do you mean, 'What are we waiting for?'" she replied... even though she had a pretty good feeling what he meant.

"Well... kids..." Aang looked away, nervous.

"I thought we were waiting for everything to be settled..." Katara had a worried, serious look in her eyes.

"Yeah... well... it's never going to be, is it? Just like we told Zuko… there's always going to be something. Some reason to put it off…" Aang met her gaze and held it without shying away. She broke away, smiling.

"No. Our lives will never be fully settled... but we're a lot closer than we ever were before." Katara bit her lip in thought. Aang shifted in the water uncomfortably at that movement. So much could hang in what dialogue she was having with herself behind those crystal blue eyes.

"Well?" He was growing impatient. "We're married, in our twenties, have an actual home to return to between wanderings..."

"Well what?" she smirked at him finally and dropped her towel. "You're right. You want kids? I can't make them by myself here, can I?"

"I guess you can't."

He pushed himself out of the basin, the remaining water pouring and dripping off his body in little rivers, running along muscle and sinew. The water glinted in the dim light of the lanterns accentuating the dips and twists of every muscle. His half erect manhood twitched heavily in the splay of his black curls. He was darker and even leaner than Katara remembered, having toiled his body under the hot Fire Nation sun. He was a vision of pure masculine beauty to her. Sure, there were bigger, bulkier men with chiseled faces and rugged hair, but to Katara, Aang was her idea of perfection. She caught herself staring and blushed.

Yes. She wanted to have his children. Start their family. Right now if they could.

Aang saw his wife's lust filled eyes ticking across his body, her mouth slightly agape. When they met his returning gaze she actually blushed. They had just shared a sensual bath, but even now they could get to each other. His need for her returned like a smoldering wildfire sparked back into a blaze after a gentle breeze. The lanterns around the room flared brighter for a moment and Katara's heart jumped. She braced herself as his energy rolled towards her like a storm that she blissfully yielded to.

He fell upon her suddenly, all mouth and hands and crushing hips. She returned the touches and kisses with equally hungry fervor. Strong hands gripped and squeezed at her breasts while he drank her breath and lapped at her mouth. Katara's smaller, delicate fingers traced along his shoulders and down his spine to grab his rear as she shifted her hips beneath him until he was angled just right. Moans of pleasure poured from them as he entered her welcoming temple, filling her completely.

"It should be a sin for you to feel this good," Aang's throaty sigh filled Katara's mind as he thrust into her.

"I could say the same," Katara whispered against his ear before biting into his shoulder.

They surrendered everything to each other, pushing and pulling and grabbing. What was slow and sensual before was a raging tempest now. Aang's hands were tangled in Katara's still damp hair, pulling her head back to kiss and suck against her throat as she arched and moaned for him. She hooked her feet up around his waist, changing the angle for him to push deeper. He grabbed one smooth leg and lifted it to sling over his shoulder, enjoying her nubile flexibility, making her cry out and clutch at the blankets.

It wasn't long before Katara was pushing him to the side and switching positions. They both preferred it this way. Aang could view his beautiful wife's whole body gyrating and swaying above him and Katara could rock and control the tempo in order to push them both over the edge together. Aang lapped at her nipples while she ground into him even harder. He was losing his control and his hands gripped her hips, forcing her faster. Katara's fingertips were scraping and clawing at his chest as she could taste the metallic sting, the telltale sign at the peak of her own completion.

"Please…go ahead…" she begged.

Her heady, desperate plea was like a magic incantation that liberated his restraints and he poured himself into her, their cries of passion climaxing together. Katara's head rolled back as she rode him and he gave his final weakening thrusts. They were one spirit between two bodies, tides of energy flowing back and forth.

Their chests were heaving, gasping for air and bodies slick with sweat. They hadn't been able to move, frozen in exhaustion; Aang's abating manhood still warmly sheathed inside of her. Katara's hands clenched over Aang's heart, and Aang's gripped her hips like a vice. They both knew there would be some bruising in the morning that they would laugh at when they discovered it.

Finally Aang was able to reach up and cup his wife's face with his hand. She held it gently to her cheek with her own hand and their eyes met. So much relief and passion in their flushed faces and tired smiles.

"I love you," Aang was able to say, "I wish we could stay right here forever."

"Me too," Katara sighed and let herself sink forward to kiss him gently. "I love you too."

At last, Katara slid to the side of her husband and laid there, curled against him with her hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat slow in time with hers.

"That was amazing- and look! We didn't burn the place down!" she laughed. Aang chuckled back, deep in his chest while sleep was threatening to take him. "Maybe I should get kidnapped more often," she teased.

"Not funny," he growled and grabbed her hand tighter.

"If the make-up sex is this good? Yeah. It kinda is." She kissed his shoulder and rubbed her leg up and down his.

"Yeah… how about we skip the 'Katara getting stolen by an angry spirit' next time and just go straight to the sex?" Aang drowsily retorted.

"Is that an offer for another round?" she breathed silkily into his ear.

"Sweetie. I got nothing left," he sighed contently.

"Yeah, me either." She could hear his breathing slowing, could feel him drifting to sleep. "Hey Aang…"

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks for rescuing me."

"You rescue me every day."

The lanterns dimmed and extinguished with a flick of his tattooed hand and soon the only sound left was the crackling of the wood stove and soft snores as two hearts beat in time to the rhythm of the night.


	10. Hunting for a Leaf and a Drop of Water

**I wanted to do a piece showing them training and sparring. They would have to keep it up every day like any good warrior or athlete and no one ever shows that. It takes time out of your day and needs planned for. I know I spend about 2.5 hrs a day exercising and training my body. And I'm not the Avatar…**

 **This piece (like several others) has pieces of imagery from the real novel I'm working on. I like play testing the scenes here :)**

 **Little bits of new writing here and there.**

 **As always, please R &R!**

* * *

 _Hunting for a Leaf and a Drop of Water_

"Thirty-five. One. Two… Thirty-Six. One. Two… Thirty-Seven. One. Two…"

The quiet voice was swallowed up in the thick forest. The leaf canopy had grown in heavily. Underbrush which had been barren during the winter was so thick that you couldn't see more than fifty feet in any direction. Humidity hung in the air like a blanket, the trees trapping it near the ground. His yellow and orange robes clung to his body in the sticky atmosphere but he didn't dare take them off. That was a sure fire way to get every buzzing insect bite imaginable.

The light was trickling in from the canopy, just spots of sun, so no matter how hot it was, it was still comfortable and somewhat cooler on the forest floor than anywhere that was being beaten into submission by the sun. Sometimes there was a little bit of a breeze higher up, and the leaves would rustle in harmony with everything surrounding the young man. If he could, he would sit there for hours and just listen to the animals as they scurried around, just out of sight, or the birds as they sang to each other in a language that only they understood. It was beautiful music.

* * *

But back in the strenuous reality, he was squatting low, fist to palm; his breath was ragged, hissing though his teeth as he counted out the series of exercises. Thighs burning with the tension. Just one more set and the hunt would begin. Somewhere out there was the woman preparing to track him down as well.

It was one of the highlights of his day.

* * *

"Fifty-seven. One. Two… Fifty-eight. One. Two… Fifty-nine. One. Two… Sixty!"

The woman huffed out the last numbers and collapsed to the mossy ground after holding her body outstretched, parallel to the earth for a solid minute. It was her fifth set. The muscles of her abdomen trembled and hot drops of sweat splashed to the ground. Leaves tickled her nose and she brushed a few chocolate curls away from her face that had come out of her tight plait.

"Ready or not, here I come," she whispered to herself, pushing her body off the forest floor and glancing around.

She concentrated and ran her hands down her torso, cooling herself with her waterbending energy. She ghosted frost across her exposed skin- a trick she was trying out for the first time to protect herself from the insects. Her flesh sparkled in the dappled light. She re-tightened her chest bindings and started padding barefoot along as softly as she could. Her prey would be searching for her with seismic sense. But if she was careful, she could feel for his vibrations through interconnected plants and roots in a similar way. She was new at using her waterbending this way, but she was versatile and learning. Just like learning her morning fighting and exercise forms.

* * *

Everything was so… green. The world even smelled green, if that even makes sense. Her bright blue eyes slid closed and she listened. It was that odd, late morning time of day when all the animals were silent. Everything was so surreal.

If you've ever spent a good deal of time outdoors you can tell the hours with all of your senses. No matter which sense, mornings are comparatively cool and calm, afternoons, harsh and rushed. Morning light has a soft blue feel to it, while afternoon is callous and orange. Mornings smell damp and feel cooler, afternoons, the opposite.

But the sounds of the forest. You can nearly pinpoint the exact hour based on sound. Early morning is so loud with the little birds chittering and fighting with each other. By late morning, everything is dead silent with the exception of a lone woodpecker-lizard hammering away at a tree, searching for its next meal. Noon gets more boisterous with larger birds and all the chipmunk-frogs scurrying and yelling at you for daring to exist in their woods. Late afternoon is utter silence again. By evening everything is alive again, in the final push before bedding down, insects and sparowkeets making the most noise. Slowly the scampering and screechings die down to be replaced only by the buzz of crickets and mosquitoes.

But right now it was silent. Perfect for her to listen for the water in the plants. If she was lucky, her quarry hadn't completed his morning forms yet.

She cocked her head as she picked up a telltale tremor through the liquid in the plants.

There.

A half mile away.

She could feel his heart pounding through the soles of his feet on the vine covered ground. The fluid pushed and pulled along the outstretched water lines like staccato Morse code, telegraphing his location. She knew that beat as well as her own. It practically was her own. It was heavy and rhythmic. He was stationary. She had completed her forms before him. She set off in the direction of that guiding pulse.

* * *

Done.

He jumped up from the ground and as the woman had and flicked away the sweat from his slick bald head. And panted out a few last breaths. Out there somewhere she might be stalking him already. He had to move. He stomped his foot into the soft ground and sent tiny seismic tremors out through the area. They would bounce back off whatever they hit and tell him exactly where everything was. In the heavy humid forest he was searching for a drop of water in an ocean.

There, off in the distance he could feel her heavy steps coming towards him. She tried to be light on her feet, but she was no airbender. They flowed more than pounded though, unlike other forms. For him though, today's bending form was earthbending. It made the hunt more sporting, more fair. And forced him to practice his other forms. Too often he would rely on just airbending or waterbending as a close second.

The task at hand: hunt her down and then the sparring battle would begin. He may have only been able to earthbend for the hunt and fight today, but he couldn't help the fact that he was naturally spry and light footed as he took of in the direction of her familiar glide. And that he enjoyed being tricksy and relied on being fast and witty in a pinch. As he raced through the woods, dodging rocks and trees and underbrush, he concocted a plan. He knew where she was. He was going to draw her out. Make her give herself away and tease her into a false sense of security before taking her down.

He added a prance to his step and began dancing through the forest instead, laying the trap, with himself as the bait.

* * *

She was gliding through the summer-warm Earth Kingdom forest, stalking. There was a shift in the momentum of the cadence through the plants- she could tell that her prey had finished his own bending and exercise forms and had taken off. He was on the move now. Light as a feather, his feet barely connecting with the ground, he was on the prowl. She lost track of him with every step that did not land on the interconnected plants and roots.

She picked up on his movements again when he finally stopped. The heartbeat quickened and the pounding turned towards her. Surely he had caught her trail in a similar way as she had searched for his. For a vegetarian, he was a surprisingly good tracker.

Now he would be hunting her and she was the prey.

She picked up her pace, searching out a more secure water source than just the thick, muggy air when suddenly she tripped, caught off guard and took a fall. She slid several feet in the damp leaf litter and came to rest by an old log. She rolled over and was lying on her back under a tiny forest of palm tree-like may apples and curling fiddle head ferns; her vision a ceiling of green leaves. She had caught sight of a tiny silver and red spider fly spinning a web on the underside of the orange may apple blossom when she thought she heard something coming towards her. A true sound, not vibrations from her waterbending senses. She probably wouldn't have heard it if she hadn't fallen and it hadn't been that weird quiet time. It was definitely footsteps. So light.

She sprung as quickly as she could and hunkered down behind the log, hoping that she had not been spotted. She cautiously peeked out over the top to see what had found her, wondering what sort of danger she would possibly have to do battle with. Since they were distinct footsteps, not the scuffling of a raccoon-possum or chipmunk-frog, she was hoping for a serval-deer and not her quarry catching her off guard.

She pulled water out of the wet soil and iced the ground beneath her, hoping to shield herself from seismic sense if he was there.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a little flash of yellow weaving through the trees and thought to herself that a falling leaf had turned to an autumn hue early. But it didn't fall though, it moved just out of sight.

There it was again. The yellow and now a flash of orange. And sky blue along his bald head and muscled, bare arms.

Shit.

There he was. There was no one else on the planet that displayed those blue tattoos.

Her vision followed his graceful movements and she couldn't help but stare at his toned, attractive body.

But honestly his body wasn't what caught her attention the most. What made her stare was the way he moved. He flowed, he danced, and he twirled about bobbing and weaving between the tree trunks, like there was music that only he could hear directing his path. Like he was one of the leaves, floating on the breeze. His arms were flung wide, fingertips brushing every leaf and branch he passed. It was as if he was part of the forest, and it was part of him. He wasn't using airbending to find her per se, but he didn't seem to be hunting and earthbending either. His feet scarcely made a sound as he soared from tree to branch, and then kicked off of a rock.

Shit.

She suddenly realized that the music he was dancing to was *her* heartbeat. He was listening through rocks like she had with the plants. His movements were perfectly matching the pulse in her veins. What was he up to, a grown man prancing around like that? Boy, was he a goofball.

* * *

She didn't realize that she was doing it, but she had slowly raised her head to get a full view of him, her gaze following him as he popped in and out of sight. The woman slowly summoned a snaking stream of water from the nearby trickle of a creek to be used when the moment presented itself.

The man would dip behind a tree or duck down behind a small hill and emerge from the other side. He would deftly dance around a tree aided by a puff of swirling air. When he spotted the nearby creek as well, he called handfuls of water to his fists, the liquid floating through the air and spinning like marbles in his palms playfully. And that was when he caught sight of the woman as she stared. He stopped in mid-step as their eyes met across the flowing water.

"Dammit, now he definitely knows where I am," she thought as she hunkered back down out of sight again. She tried to make herself as quiet and small as possible against the back of the log she had chosen for her defensive position, hoping that the man would not find her. She wished that she was an earthbender and could sink into the soil beneath her. She was actually self conscious and embarrassed at being caught just watching him.

Out of nowhere she heard a deep voice pipe up, "Hi there." Not a question, not wondering, just a statement of greeting.

She looked up and he was hovering over her, kneeling on the log she was hiding behind. His face was inches from hers and had this little smirk of curiosity. He had a short black chinstrap beard with two beads in it that clinked together and brushed against the woman's forehead. The woman hadn't even heard his final approach and the woods were so silent. How did he get across the creek and do that?

"Hi Aang," she kind of mumbled, doing her best not to let her voice crack. It didn't work. "You caught me. Again."

"Yep!" He giggled with this bubbly energy that over took all of the frustration that she was feeling. "But you're getting better, Katara!"

He planted a sloppy playful kiss on her nose making her groan and swat at him. He stood quickly and jumped, dropping a handful of leaves all over her face and grabbed a low branch. He swung his feet effortlessly up and around the branch and just hung there by his knees, still giggling while she wiped away the wet spittle. His bald dome was nearly brushing the mossy ground and his yellow under tunic came untucked from his bright blue belt sash and fell a bit, exposing the pale belly underneath. It still showed faint track marks of burn scars. It always would. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander along the taut planes of his abdomen.

"I found you first though." Katara pouted. "I should have attacked. You were being so goofy, bounding through the trees like that."

"You did find me out first, but didn't take the decisive opportunity," he replied, swaying back and forth in puffs of breeze of his own creation. "I was simply maintaining maximum aloofness to keep you off guard."

She rolled her eyes at his old joke. He knew her too well; knew exactly how to make her drop her shields. For him. For anything else she was tempered steel.

A sudden look of surprise crossed his face. He reached back up and grabbed the branch, swinging his legs back over his head, flipping down from the tree. He landed gracefully beside the woman and ducked as if attempting to conceal himself also. As he fell into place beside her, their legs touched briefly and her heart fluttered, remembering heated exchanges and tender touches from the night before.

But there were more important things to be paying attention to. He talked in hushed tones as he reached over and ran his rough palm along her soft, cool cheek. Her skin was shimmering like crystals for some reason.

"There could be Dark Spirits lurking in these woods," he whispered into her ear. "You never know when one may catch you defenseless…"

Her bright blue eyes widened with a hint of fear at the prospect. "You said we were still a few days away from the temple…"

He smirked and twitched his fingers into fists. Suddenly the earth beneath her shifted, locking her hands and ankles in place to the forest floor beneath them. She gave a half-hearted scowl.

"Aang…"

He had her pinned, his body caging her against the moss and fern-covered ground. His hip pressed into hers as she was locked there, nearly spread open to him in her thin skirt. His mouth hovered over hers, preparing to devour a deep kiss.

"What?" he continued to whisper, "I caught you…"

She sighed and arched into him as best she could as his tongue traced her lips… she suddenly twisted her head away from him. He drew a sharp breath and braced himself. He knew this move, but hadn't predicted it coming this time. Tricksy vixen.

WHOOSH! SLAM!

A great green and slimy wave crashed into his body, summoned from the little pond-fed stream, throwing him forcefully aside, leaving him slipping in the now slick and mucky underbrush. The water seeped into her earthen bindings, dissolving them into pliable mud, which she whisked away with the flick of her now free hand.

"You may have caught me, but the fight's not over," she laughed back, the wet soil sliding easily from her icy skin at her command. "Today is Earth only for you… and I have a pond and stream and vines at my command." She twisted her fingers like a puppet master and the plants around him began to swing and writhe.

He glowered back at her and shook the mud from his own body. His yellow and orange robes were now splotched brown and green. If she wanted a fight, then he was more than willing to give it. It would make victory…or loss… that much sweeter. He punched toward the ground in order to sure up his footing and slid into a wide, firm stance. The earth solidified around him and he prepared for battle.

"Ha!" she shouted as a stream of water was pulled from the nearby pond and flowed towards him as another small wave. Meanwhile the vines scurried across the landscape, searching for his limbs. If she could trap him with vines or ice before he did the likewise with earth, she would gain the upper hand.

He grabbed toward the ground and pulled, feeling the solid earth twist and sway. The wave broke against a wall of rock that he effortlessly threw up. He stomped and sent a tremor rolling towards her. It disrupted the oncoming vines and resisted their grasp. The cruel seductress may have caught him off guard when he thought he had already won, but he wasn't about to let her wriggle away.

She raised her hands, pulling the water filled tree roots below her from the earth like a springboard, throwing her body out of harm's way of the oncoming rock slide. She flew through the air and settled herself with the tethering aid of a vine on the branch of a tree, temporarily safe from the earthbending.

"You can't hide up there forever!" he shouted at her and pulled a bolder from the ground, taking aim. The muscles of his arms rippled from the force.

"Maybe, maybe not," she teased back, hanging down from the branch like he had earlier, her long braid dangling back and forth. "But would you really risk hurting this innocent tree, just to get at little old me?"

His face went slack and his aggressive, furrowed brow softened with shock and hurt. The fierce gleam in his eyes dimmed.

"No…" the bolder fell back down with a loud thud. The rock wall slid back in to place as well. "Not fair Katara… you know me too well… you win." He turned and kicked at the ground once, before sitting on the spot lotus style.

"Oh sweetie…" Katara bent the branches and vines into a slide and made her way back to the ground. Her voice was apologetic as she placed a gentle hand on his orange robed shoulder. "I… I didn't mean anything by that Aang. I was just trying to goad you on."

"I know," he patted her hand and looked up at her with those shining stormy eyes. "but you're right. I won't hurt that tree just to get to you."

"But… we're training. You can't hold back. I won't." She shook him slightly. "Who knows what kind of person or spirit we'll run into next. I need to be ready for anything. You do too. Sometimes you have to make the tough choices and take the shot."

Aang took in a sharp breath. She was right.

And it scared him.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her down into his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her. She was abnormally cold. He buried his face into her neck and breathed deeply her natural perfume. Salty sweat like the ocean and crisp freshness like a gentle spring rain.

"I know… I know… I…" he thumped his arrow tattooed forehead against hers. She was smiling serenely at him. "I don't want to compromise myself, or do something that may anger a spirit either… damaging that tree just for training? That would probably do both. I… I can't risk losing you again."

It had been nearly a month since the Butterfly Spirit had returned Katara to him. The pain and fear was still fresh in his mind. It always would be. She was his everything.

"And I won't risk losing YOU either. I'm here," she slipped her hand under his robes and over his heart, making him gasp. Her hand was chilly. He felt her energy slipping into him, past his defenses like a hot knife through butter. "And here." She kissed the tip of his arrow and he smiled again finally.

"Why are you so cold?" he asked as he leaned in to kiss her again.

"Oh. I covered myself in frost to keep the bugs away," she puffed up her chest, proud of her ingenuity. "It's working too! Come on. Hand-to hand."

She jumped back out of his arms suddenly and spun. She readied a strong stance; light on her feet, but solid and balanced. Elbows in and hands at the ready to deflect blows. Then she dropped her hands and laughed. Aang was still sitting on the ground with a dopey look and pout. His lips were still pursed in his single-sided kiss from when she deftly hopped away.

"Daydreaming of living underwater?" she teased.

"Maybe." He smirked and pushed himself to standing with a puff of air swirling beneath him. His robes lightly flowed around him. He stood firmly now, readying his spar.

"You don't even think about that when you do it, do you?" she said as she repositioned her stance again. She knew she would have to lead the attack. He never did. Only ever evading and deflecting at first.

"What?" he cocked a brow and took a step back.

"The airbending there. To get up." She threw a sudden left punch which he turned away from. She hadn't put all her force behind it and held her form. Testing the waters for when he'd return a blow. "You've always just…done it. I can count on one hand the number of times you've actually used your own MUSCLES to get up."

She swung a kick this time. Hard. He caught her foot between his hands and shifted, throwing the leg aside.

But she had been practicing and kept her balance. Never throw a kick higher than you can hold. She spun away from the counter attack chop that she knew was following.

"Good." He coached without emotion. "Keep flowing. Be a leaf on the wind."

"I'm a waterbender, sweetie…a leaf on the WATER…" she continued her rotation and followed through with a balance shift into another kick- a leg sweep. "I always flow."

This time it connected, taking Aang's feet from under him. Aang's eyes shot wide open as he was caught off guard and the ground came rushing to meet him. Instinctively he flipped and airbent himself right, twisting in mid air effortlessly to land on his feet like a squirrel-cat.

"Hey! No bending!" Katara huffed at him, putting her fists to her hips in annoyance. "Hand to hand only!"

"Sorry!" he replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Like you said, I don't think about it. I just do. Especially the airbending… yeah. Mostly the airbending. But hey! You would have knocked me down!"

"Someone needs to chi-block your airbending…" Katara bit back, putting her fists back up and nodding her head towards him to continue the fight. He nodded back, his beard-beads clinking.

He came at her lighting fast, but without bending this time, with a flurry of blows which she dodged and blocked. Weaving and bobbing. She was getting much better at fighting without bending. It was a skill that you never knew if you'd need or not.

Her heart was starting to pound faster in her chest from the work as she tried turning his attacks back against him. Their fighting styles were very similar. Not just because Aang had been her teacher, but because of how their own bending styles were so similar as well. There was a certain amount of harmony between water and air. Flowing and changing. Raging or tranquil.

One missed block caught Katara in the side, cracking into her ribs just right to knock the wind out of her. She fell back heavy on her rear and would have hit the ground had Aang not whisked up a cushion of air to soften her fall.

She forced the air back out of her lungs and gasped as she lay in the soft moss. "Thank… you…Good… Hit." She wiped the sweat from her brow and flung it. It crystallized into snowflakes before it fell to the ground. "I guess I bend without thinking much about it either… makes sense after so many years…"

Aang reached out to take his wife's hand to pull her from the forest floor. Instead she took advantage of the momentary distraction and shifted the water in the grass under his feet, making the ground icy slick and knocking him off balance. He fell forward onto her suddenly, tangled in his robes. Since she had his hand, she used the fall to twist him and control how he landed, using the shift in weight to switch their positions. Aang landed on his back with Katara straddling him, laughing.

"Well… this is inviting…" Aang leered and grabbed Katara's hips tightly, thumbs digging into the exposed bone peaking above her skirt. "You may have come out on top, but I think I still win."

"Mmmm. I dunno…I have you just where *I* want you… Maybe it's a tie." Katara dipped down to swallow another kiss, proud of her move. Training would definitely be over. It tended to end this way. "It's a good thing you weren't chi blocked before or I would have hit the ground even harder…"

"Yeah… well… I wouldn't know…I've never been chi blocked…" He plucked a leaf from her hair and blew it into the breeze and watched it float peacefully away.

"Wait. What?" Katara cocked her brow at him rolled off to his side, propping herself up on one elbow and leaving one leg draped over his. He absentmindedly traced his fingers up and down her thigh. "Really? You're… you're right! I never thought about it but yeah. You never actually fought Ty Li… or The Southern Chi Blockers."

An odd, worried look crossed Aang's face. "When you went south and I stayed in the Fire Nation during the time Azula was riling up the New Ozai supporters years ago, Ty Li and I talked about it. She said she knew how to immobilize non benders and how to chi-block fire, earth, and water benders… But she didn't know how to block an air bender. Each bending style has slightly different pressure points that need hit in order to block the bending. It had been nearly a hundred years since an airbender had been around, so that part of the art was lost. She could stop my physical combat skills, but bending? ... She would have had to experiment on me, being the only remaining airbender…" He shuffled under Katara's leg and looked away. He tugged at his robes awkwardly. It had been an uncomfortable conversation that the fifteen year old Avatar had had with a young woman who WASN'T his girlfriend at the time. An overly flirty, attractive (but harmless) young woman. "We kinda decided that was a really bad idea. For anyone to have all the keys to bringing down the Avatar… that didn't sit well with us. I don't know what will happen in a few hundred years from now when the cycle returns to an Air Nomad… if that even happens… or who would even train them… but at least the next Avatar should be safe from losing his or her air bending should they confront a chi-blocker."

Katara shifted uneasily and slid her leg off of him. Talk of the future of the air nomad race was always peppered with trepidation. There was no good answer to that uncertain future. Katara's hand fell to her lower abdomen instinctively. Aang was staring into the sky and didn't notice.

Katara curled into his outstretched arm and looked upward as well. The leaf canopy wasn't as thick here and the bright blue sky could be seen peaking through the branches. Their sparring had taken them near the edge of a clearing. Katara followed where Aang's eyes tracked towards white puffy clouds and thought about the time in the Si Wong Desert when Appa had been stolen by sandbenders and they mistook a cloud for the bison.

Aang was thinking about that time too.

* * *

Their rag tag team nearly fell apart there, but Mama Katara kept everyone together. Aang loved her so much for that. Even through his insanity and rage, she was there, loving him during the pit of his despair. When everyone fled, she was there, being his earthly tether.

And he was thinking about why they were so far from their home in Republic City on the outskirts of the borders between the Earth Kingdom and the Eastern Air Temple.

The Eastern Air Temple was where Appa had been born. Where most of the Sky Bison were raised by the nuns. Aang and Katara knew the Air Nomad race was spent, but maybe, just maybe they could find some remaining sky bison. Hidden away in the wilds. Momo was proof that some of the Air Nomad animals must have survived.

But that temple that had taken the worst immediate losses at the beginning of the war.

When Aang had returned to the Eastern Air Temple to study with Guru Patik there was… nothing. The buildings were in terrible ruin, most of the temple was overgrown with plants and trees. The stables and nurseries and dormitories were completely empty and destroyed. The wilds were reclaiming the land.

Guru Patik had been nearly timeless. Aang never asked his age, but he was well over 100- maybe even pushing two. Usually only truly powerful benders would have their lives extended by their connection to the elements. Like Avatar Kyoshi. Like King Bumi. Patik's long life was probably because he was so enlightened that he was half in the Spirit World as is.

Or maybe it was the Onion-Banana Juice.

Aang smirked at the memory, but continued his silent sad reverie; barely tethered to earth by Katara's warm head on his shoulder and hand on his thigh.

Guru Patik had been a hermit at the Eastern Air temple for decades- waiting for Aang- and in that time he had cleared and reconsecrated the sacred sanctuary. He had removed all the remains and evidence of the massacre, although there weren't many. Everything had been incinerated. The nuns. The children. The Bison herd.

It had been a coordinated attack, making sure to wipe out the women, children, and bison in the first wave with the power of the Great Comet (which would come to be known as Sozin's Comet). With no bison, there was no escape. With no women and children, there was no future.

Aang wanted that future. He could only hope his children would be air benders with a waterbending wife.

"Well… that's a good thing. About the chi-blocking" Katara finally spoke, shaking Aang from his thoughts. He tightened his grip on her shoulder, ignoring the tear sliding down his face. She curled in to his embrace, her still slick body melding to his and whispered seductively. "Only I should have the key to bringing you… down…"

"Oh… you do…" He wrapped his hands around her bare waist and pulled her tight to his hips as his eyes slid closed in preparation for another passionate kiss and more…

CRACK! ZING! ZING! ZIP!

Aang's head snapped back, eyes wide and searching for the source of the strange sound, all amorous intentions evaporated in an instant, replaced with fight or flight instincts. They both sprang immediately to their feet. Back to back, the pair reflexively readied defensive stances. Aang's hands at the ready to evade and block, Katara ripping a whip from the water in the grass beneath her feet to attack. Energy between the two of them sparked back and forth. They were like a pair of well experienced dancers, prepared and fighting in tandem. Able to predict each other's moves, ready to play off each other's strengths; to defend and strike in harmony.

Something was flitting and buzzing back and forth as fast as lightening. Just on the edges of their vision. A sense of being watched and followed by a light within a shadow; by pure energy itself. Nothing of solid matter. Leaves were flipping and twisting in the trees while there was no breeze.

"What is it?" Katara hissed her question out between gritted teeth as her eyes ticked back and forth. Aang dug his feet into the earth, searching. Whatever it was, it wasn't touching the ground. "Could it be a spirit? It doesn't feel like an animal."

"No. It doesn't. I don't know. I can't get a bead on it." Aang stepped back and slid next to his wife, hip to hip. "There was nothing out here when I checked the archives. We're still about a two days' march away from the Eastern Air Temple, where a spirit should be. Let's get back to Appa and get moving."

* * *

 **Always thanks for reading! Reviews make me write faster!**


	11. Spirits and Thunderstorms

**What have they gotten themselves into now?! Thanks for sticking with me! An almost sex scene that gets humorously derailed. Please R &R!**

* * *

 _Spirits and Thunderstorms_

The pair started weaving in and out of the trees as stealthily as they could, dodging through the plants and undergrowth with grace and speed and agility. Aang was utterly silent. It was amazing. Not even a rustled leaf or snapped twig. Katara followed along as best she could. She had been training on her soundless movements as well.

They came to a huge tree that had fallen across the path. The trunk must have been ten feet in circumference. The tree didn't completely block the way. It had broken off about six feet up, so walking underneath it was simple enough. The broken end of the trunk was sharp and jagged and Katara pointed to it.

"I think I saw whatever it was dart into the end of that tree," she whispered as she ducked behind a rock.

Five steps later, Aang's feet were barely touching the ground as he dashed over the terrain. He hit the rock Katara was behind with one foot and nearly flew over her as he leapt effortlessly. Katara threw a large ice dagger up and he snatched it mid bound, landing nimbly on the broad trunk. He spun the liquid between his hands and reshaped it, covering the end of the log with an icy cap.

"Gotchya!" He shouted gleefully. He rapped on the trunk with his knuckles and cupped his big ear to the bark, listening carefully. "Hello?"

It was silent still. No sounds of animals or breeze. But he could feel… something… Suddenly the log started vibrating under Aang's hands. The wood began heating up and smoking. The ice cap sizzled and hissed, vaporizing into mist. Fire sprang up around Aang's feet and licked at his loose orange pants.

"Woah!" he stumbled back in shock and fell several feet down from the trunk, landing clumsily in the leaf litter below.

"Aang! What are you doing?!" Katara shrieked. She was so confused. He'd never trap something inside a log and then set the log on fire! It made no sense.

"It wasn't me!" he retorted perplexed and scrambled backwards towards his wife on his hands and heels just in time. The entire log burst into blue and orange flames. Katara cowered and threw up an ice shield between them and the log to block the explosion. Flaming stakes of wood shards were flung towards them and embedded deep in the wall. The couple would have been impaled if it wasn't for Katara's instictively fast protective reflexes. They sunk in so deeply that they pierced right through, impaling the ice, steaming. The log- and whatever may have been in it- was gone.

"What on earth was that?!" Katara said, grabbing Aang's shoulder and pulling him further behind the wall protectively. Their hearts were racing.

"I…I have no idea."

* * *

The pair made their way back to the clearing they had left Appa and Momo in just before dawn. Just before they went off for their morning trainings.

The clearing was more like a flower garden, full of daisies and poppies and tulips of every color imaginable. Noisy fat bumblebees and lazy slow fluttering butterflies were flitting from petal to petal. The old black and white lemur was dozing in the sunshine like a lazy cat; his long ear shook when a bee landed on it. His tail was curled up around his short muzzle. Their gear was stored neatly beside an earth tent where they had left it- food locked in stone out of the lemur's greedy reach.

Insects and birds were starting to get noisy again. Aang shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun with his hand and peered around. Aang stamped his foot into the soft ground and reached out with his blind sight. Rodents, insects, reptiles, distant deer… But something was conspicuously missing.

The ten-ton, six-legged, magical flying bison was nowhere in sight. Katara cocked her head and side eyed Aang. A look of concern darkened his stormy eyes, but he shook it away. Appa could have just wandered away. There was no sign of a struggle or anything. The beast was just gone.

"Momo… Where's Appa?" Aang asked the flying primate when he got up to him. Momo's ear twitched again, but he ignored the man. Aang poked Momo in the side with his foot several times. "Hey. Sloth-lemur. Wake up."

"Mrrrr?" Momo drowsily slid one bright chartreuse eye open. It constricted rapidly in the strong light as it swiveled up to gaze at the humans standing over him.

"Oh Aang. Momo's not going to know where Appa is." Katara elbowed Aang in the ribs before bending down and scratching the old monkey's head. "Besides… you're not sleep deprived enough to be able to understand what he'd say anyways."

"One time! One time I go a little off the deep end…" Aang laughed back. "At least *I* didn't drink cactus juice…"

"Aw… you're such a sweet thing, just like Momo…" Katara turned back to him and smiled sardonically and patted Aang's scruffy cheek too before flicking his beard beads. He stuck his tongue out at her and went over to their gear.

Aang started rooting around through their meager supplies hastily; pots, pans, and utensils clattered noisily as he searched. He knocked on the stone cube and the side of the rock dropped down, revealing a hollow area full of dried fruits and nuts and bread; a few nuts rolled away from the hiding place. Momo was immediately wide awake and raced over, swiping the morsels before Katara could stop him.

"Momo! Bad lemur! You're lucky my brother didn't eat you years ago!" she huffed at him. "Go find some of your own food!" Katara grabbed a handful of leche fruit and started peeling the skin, exposing the succulent shiny white flesh. She popped it in her mouth, bursting the sweet morsel against her tongue and spit the seed away. She was starving after their morning training… and for other reasons.

"Ha! Here it is!" Aang jumped up and held an old battered off-white whistle up. It was crudely shaped like a bison. He held it up to his lips and took a deep breath. His cheeks puffed out comically as he blew as hard as he could.

Which was practically gale force for the air bender.

No discernible sound came out.

It never did.

"I can't believe you actually found that at that market, and that it worked," Katara chuckled as she waited. Appa would be back any second. "And that you still have it, like a million years later… Can't keep a straight razor more than a week, but that whistle? 12 years or whatever!"

But Appa didn't come back.

Aang and Katara scanned the skies and he blew the whistle gain.

Nothing but puffy white clouds in the clear summer sky.

Where was Appa?

* * *

One nervous thought kept passing through Aang's mind as he paced back and forth across the beautifully serene flower filled clearing.

Where. Was. Appa?

"Aang. Sweetie. I'm sure he's fine…" his wife tried reassuring him gently, but even hopeful Katara was tense. A ten ton magical flying bison doesn't just disappear without a trace. Even when he would wander off foraging for moon peaches, Appa never ignored the bison whistle. Katara puttered around with the supplies and rearranged their bed mats again out of anxious habit. She always took to cleaning and tidying when at a loss for any other answer. "We'll just have to wait a while for him. He'll be back before you know it!"

Aang crossed his arms over his chest and kicked at the ground like a petulant child. A puff of dandi-tiger seeds scattered and floated on the breeze. He didn't like the situation. Whatever the…firebug… was that had been zipping around unnerved him and he wanted to get moving again to the Eastern Air Temple. It had been a few years since they had last been there, leaving it in the hands of a dozen or so senior Air Acolytes. They weren't Air Nomads or benders, but they were honorable and good people. Some of the ladies had given themselves tattoos years ago, not realizing their mistake, but covered them out of respect.

He gave one last mournful look across the horizon before finally sitting down heavily next to Katara, pouting. She leaned over and kissed him on the top of his shiny head. He picked up his staff and started digging at the soil at his feet, ignoring her completely.

A surprisingly cool wind kicked up and rippled across the clearing suddenly, bringing gooseflesh to Katara's exposed mid drift. Her skin was still slightly frosty from her insect-repellent. She dismissed the ice and pulled a light blue travel dress from the pile and slipped it on over her head, fastening the cross clasps under her breast. It was the dress she had left behind at the Gufeng Valley factory that Aang had saved. She finished by wrapping a bright yellow belt around her waist. She secretly wondered how much longer her dress would fit. It was still very early.

"Nothing?" Katara bumped his shoulder with her knee.

"What?" He glanced up from his dirt doodles with a blank expression.

"You usually give a little huff when I put my dress back on…" she smirked, trying to get his mind off Appa.

"Oh. Yeah. Here." Aang scrunched his face up into a goofy, perturbed pout. "How's that?"

"Ug. Why do I put up with you?" Katara flopped down next to her husband stretching out in the soft grass. She ran her fingertips along his blue belt sash at the small of his back.

"You can't help yourself. I'm just too manly." He puffed up his chest and flexed his biceps. He even added fists of fire for extra effect. "An overwhelmingly gorgeous specimen of masculine perfection."

"Oh Spirits…" Katara laughed and gave him another shove with her knee, pleased that she had diverted Aang's sullen mood. "You must have spent too much time with Sokka in the Gufeng Valley…I better have only daughters… I wouldn't be able to handle another one of… this." She waved her hand at him, motioning to all of him.

"Sons. Daughters. Whatever. As long as they're healthy." He glanced down at her and patted a hand on her flat belly. She tensed up at his touch and squirmed a bit. "And air benders," Aang thought to himself selfishly as he laid back in the grass as well, hands behind his head, just staring at the clear sky.

Wait a second. The sky wasn't clear at all. Heavy, dark bottomed clouds were rolling in with nearly unnatural speed beneath the higher fluffy sun filled ones. The storm had built so slowly from a perfectly fine humid day that they didn't even realize it was coming until the temperature dropped and the sky was dark enough to need to light candles.

"Uh oh. We've got a storm rolling in, sweetie…" He pushed himself back up onto his elbows. "We're not going to be going anywhere no matter what."

"Yeah. I felt it coming. I was surprised you didn't notice the wind change. Need to secure the supplies." Katara rolled over and Aang watched the muscles of her toned arms ripple with the effort as she pushed off the ground and hand-walked herself up to standing. She was beautiful to him no matter what, but her radiance was intensifying and he couldn't quite place his finger on it as to why. It wasn't just how her recent training had started to sculpt her body even more than it was before. He was glad that she was getting better with her hand-to-hand combat, too. She went to pack their gear into the earth tent. Aang eyed her as she moved, the ends of the yellow belt swaying with her broad hips in the breeze.

"I was distracted…" He really was being a lech as he waited until she bent over, reaching for the items before stopping her. "Here, leave that stuff there…" He jumped from the ground himself, propelled by a swirl of wind. He stomped his bare foot into the ground and instantly everything Katara was grabbing for was raised on a low rock table. Open channels ran underneath the dais for water flow.

"Step back sweetie," he called over to her and she smirked back at him over her shoulder but followed his request. He swung his arms into a triangle in front of his chest, and the walls of another earth tent erupted from the ground around the gear table, protecting everything. Momo scurried inside of the new tent and curled up in the middle of Appa's huge saddle as the first heavy drops began to splash to the ground.

"Show off," Katara hollered at him as he ducked into their small tent and flopped on the bed mat.

"It's earth day, right?" Aang shot back. "Gotta keep up with all of my bending, not just battle! Come in here before you get drenched."

"Not yet. Every day is water day for me…" Instead of making her way out of the rain and back to their own tent, Katara threw her arms wide and raised her merrily smiling face to the welcome shower . It hit against her brow and cheeks and trickled down her neck and started soaking into her summer linens, darkening the hues artificially. Every drop that hit her skin flashed with a bright blue energy that seemed to meld into her flesh.

Aang smiled and enjoyed watching his wife pay homage to her element as the rain quickly increased in force and intensity. Birds hunkered down, grasses whipped in the breeze, tops of trees swayed in the changing wind as lower sections were motionless.

CHR-CRACK! FLASH!

The first bolt of lightning shattered the sky, making both Katara and Aang yelp in fearful surprise. Katara jumped and dove into the tent and into her husband's waiting arms. They fell back into the unfurled bedrolls in a laughing tangle of limbs and blankets. Her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest from the frightful disruption. Water was dripping off her nose and landing in the middle of Aang's arrowed forehead as she straddled him and held herself above him precariously. She giggled sheepishly and rolled off of him and sat hip to hip, watching the storm roll through the clearing in waves.

Another bolt of lightning illuminated the sky. A bright blue-white shock that crackled between the ominous clouds. A few seconds later the tent shook with the booming of the thunder outside. Katara flinched again and grabbed Aang's arm and his skin tingled where her damp fingertips touched the bare skin. The rainstorm was energizing her, but he was distracted again.

"Where did this storm come from?" Katara wondered aloud, trying to break his silence. "I could feel rain building, but it didn't seem like it would be a thunder storm too."

Aang wrapped his arm around her waist and she laid her head against his shoulder. Her long sodden braid fell down his back, pouring a river into his robes.

"Sweetie. You're soaked… And getting me and the blankets wet too…" Aang whined.

"Point being. Mr. Avatar?" she giggled.

"Ug." Aang replied by placing his fist to palm and drawing his energy center before blasting it outwards as a whirlwind sphere, drying the pair instantly. He stared out into the torrent blankly. "I hope Appa found shelter."

"I'm sure he's fine," Katara echoed again, biting her lip as she gazed into the storm. They had flown through worse. She just leaned into him again, wondering if any attempts at intimacy were a lost cause at this point- but she could still try. She just traced her fingers along the outlines of his tattooed hand and listened to the storm. Water was starting to run in little rivulets along the base of their raised earth tent. The rain was heavy and hard, pounding out a syncopated rhythm on the solid slanted roof. The tempo was mismatched against the sound of his breathing.

"I know… it's just ominous, is all," he sighed heavily, lost in his thoughts, absentmindedly tracing patterns with his own fingertips on the soft material of her dress laying across her thigh. The designs mirrored Katara's movements.

"Talk to me, sweetie, please." Storms always made him contemplative.

"I just wonder if we should have done this," he squeezed her tightly. "The last place was such a disaster… and the last month has been great… just the two of us…nomadding our way lazily across the landscape. But I was thinking that maybe we should just go back to Republic City and call this all off. And now that we're almost to the Eastern Air Temple, I feel hopeful again, but still fearful that something could go so terribly wrong. We came here to look for signs of other Sky Bison. And now the only one left we know of is missing!"

"Oh good grief Aang," Katara stopped stroking his hand and reached up to playfully tug on his beard. "We set out on a mission, and we've NEVER abandoned a mission. Lighten up! It's only been a few hours. Enjoy the moment!"

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself." Katara cocked her brow at him and slid her hand under his tunic and tickled the skin at the small of his back.

Aang finally noticed the hungry look in her eyes and realized what she had been getting at. All thoughts of the missing sky bison vanished as he gazed at this woman here under his arm. There was nothing else they could do at the moment… How could he to turn down such an invitation? He hooked his thumb into her yellow belt sash as his heart quickened and his blood rushed south. He grabbed her chin roughly and crashed his kisses to her waiting mouth. She fell back against the blankets under his body.

CRACK! ZAP! BOOM!

They both jumped this time as the ground shook from the thunder.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Aang shouted at the sky and pounded the ground. He cracked the earth and sent tremors along the surface while he braced himself over his wife. "Sugar Queen here wants some action!"

"Crimeny," she laughed and pushed him. "Really? Sugar Queen?"

"What? It fits?" He bent back down and nibbled at her neck. She tasted of the sweet summer rain and that intoxicating hint of musk that was uniquely Katara. Uniquely *his*. "You're so sweet…" She tugged at his belt and it fell away, his robes sliding open to allow access for her hands to graze along his torso. She felt his skin and muscles twitch against her fingertips.

"You're ridiculous."

"I know," he mumbled against her skin and gripped her leg, running his hand under the skirts. His thumb pressed into the soft inside of her thigh. She tilted her hips up to meet him as he unhooked the front clasp of her dress and reached for her breast.

But when he squeezed roughly at the mound of flesh, she drew a sharp, pained breath suddenly.

"Ow!" she pushed him again. "Gentle! Those are attached to me you know!"

"What?" Aang tilted his head curiously at her. He hadn't been any more forceful than usual.

"Just… gentle… please." She requested, but pleaded with her eyes for him to continue. There was something in her voice, in the way she looked at him. He couldn't place it, but it seemed like she wanted to say something else. Something more. Something important. He shook it off and assumed the importance was the growing heat between her legs and solid heaviness between his. Katara's bright eyes slid closed as Aang sealed his mouth to hers again and settled his hips between her knees.

* * *

"MWAWR!"

Everything stopped and the pair laughed. Aang pushed himself up on his elbows to look out the open end of the earth tent and into the storm towards the distinct sound of the sky bison. The rain was actually letting up.

"Really Appa?!" he yelled at the beast who lumbered in to view. He looked pitifully bedraggled in the rain. "Too late, buddy. I'm not making you a stable right now. You shouldn't have wandered off!" Aang looked back down at his wife expecting to continue their affair. He was surprised to see her face twisted into a scowl, the confusion plain on his own face. "What? You telling me you want to stop now?"

"No… but… after all the moping you did for the last hour?" she rolled her eyes at him. She really *didn't* want to stop… but…

"Monkey feathers…" Aang hung his head and pressed his face into Katara's shoulder mumbling curses before looking up again. "Cock blocked by the bison… what is this, kid training?"

Katara just laughed and pushed him off her and rolled over. She affectionately looked out towards their beloved bison. "He's coming, Appa," she hollered.

Grumbling, Aang pushed himself back up and adjusted his uncomfortably tight waistband. He extended his hand into the slowing rain ahead of him before stepping out. The water never touched his body as it bent around him like an invisible umbrella. He began trudging toward the soaked animal. "I might be a water bender, but I don't worship that element," he threw back at his wife. "Although maybe I SHOULD take a cold shower…"

"Boo hoo, big baby…"

Suddenly there was a blaze of light streaking across the field. It was like lightening, but not; moving horizontally instead of vertically. It buzzed across Aang's range of vision and abruptly turned, making a beeline for Appa.

"NO!" Aang and Katara screamed in unison.

Aang's heart nearly stopped. Time stood still in that instant. The drops of rain seemed to hover in mid air.

* * *

Actually, the rain was remaining perfectly still. On instinct, Katara was by his side in a flash, stopping all water in the atmosphere. Appa was surrounded protectively in a sphere of thick ice. Within the ice was a swirling whirlwind to aid in deflection. Perfect harmony of co-bending.

The streak of light hit the ice with a thunderous crack, the energy scattering along the imperfections in the crystalline structure. With it, the wall shattered and fell to the ground, exposing the perfectly safe (and now fluffy dry) sky bison. Something ricocheted and bounced into the nearby underbrush and lay still in the wet grass. The rain had all but stopped now.

"What was that?!" Aang said back to Katara. The daze of terror was still stretched across her face. A few dark strands of hair had pulled loose from her braid. Aang caught a glint of silver in those strands. Age and stress was starting to catch up with her, even though she wasn't even 25 yet. Aang took a few steadying breaths and tried regaining control of the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He hadn't realized he had stopped breathing. Everything happened so quickly.

"I don't know," she gasped. He could tell she was struggling with her own fight or flight hormonal reaction. Her sudden defensive response was faster than usual, even for motherly Katara. She ran over to Appa and placed her glowing, water-covered hand against his furry white flank. Aang swiftly followed, knowing that she was checking for injuries. She looked up, relieved. "He's fine. Not even shaken."

"Oh thank the elements," Aang's heart finally settled. He didn't know if Appa would have survived the lightening without Katara's quick bending. Water re-channels electricity much better than air. He cursed himself for always reverting to airbending on instinct, even after all these years. Aang tapped the ground lightly with his foot. There was…something… in the brush. It wasn't moving. He couldn't feel it breathing or it even having a heartbeat. He shook Katara's shoulder and pointed "I think something fell over there, we need to check it out."

They cautiously and defensively crept toward the brush, not sure what they would find. Katara had ice daggers at the ready; Aang, stone. The leaves were dry and singed; leading an obvious trail to whatever it was that was there.

"Mrawr!"

They both jumped, startled by the great bison who shoved past them along the trail.

"Appa! Wait!" Aang shouted, "What are you doing! We don't know what that is!"

Appa ignored him and continued rumbling past. He started snuffling in the brush and shoving something with his flat snout. Aang and Katara hurried up and pushed Appa away from whatever he was rooting around for. They gasped and stopped dead in their tracks.

Whatever it was was barely a foot tall. It was humanoid in shape, but had no discernible gender. It was a shimmering shade of auburn, with a flowing glow across its body in deep crimsons and oranges, like a dancing flame. It appeared completely hairless. It wasn't moving, with its limbs bent at odd angles.

"Oh my goodness!" Katara gasped and stepped back, her hands over her mouth. "Is it…?"

"Dead? I don't think so." Aang crouched down and tentatively poked it with his finger. It was unnaturally warm and shifted gently, its joints loose. He could feel a strange energy bouncing around inside of it. He recognized the energy. "I don't think it was ever 'alive,' so to speak."

"What do you mean, sweetie?" she crouched down, reaching out curiously now, the ice daggers melted and hands glowing again with healing energy instead.

"I mean, this is a Spirit."


	12. The Spirit and the Herd

**They injured a spirit! Isn't that the OPPOSITE of what they want to do? how will it react? Please R &R**

* * *

 _The Spirit and the Herd_

"How did we knock out a spirit?" Katara's face was twisted in surprise and confusion. It was quite beautiful, with the rippling colors. "I mean, I know you hurt Old Iron badly… blew a hole right through his 'body'… but you were in the Avatar State when you did that."

"I think it knocked itself out," Aang replied and chewed on his lower lip, sliding the soul patch of his beard through his teeth nervously. Hurting a spirit was the LAST thing he wanted to do. "You can't kill a spirit, because it's not alive…"

"But I can heal it because it's made of energy," Katara retorted, refocusing on the figure. She knew first hand how devastating an angry spirit could be. Being sent into the void was not on her list of enjoyable experiences. She touched it without any healing energy first, just to get a sense of what it was. It felt weird under her fingers, like energy made solid somehow. And its energy felt to be the polar opposite of hers. She tried seeping healing energy into it with some water from the damp ground. It boiled against the spirit's…skin… She had no idea if she was actually helping the being. "I think it's a Fire Spirit."

"Of course it is!" Aang snapped his fingers at the thought. "This must be what was messing with us in the forest, and what blew up that log. But why would it want to hurt Appa?"

Suddenly the Fire Spirit's eyes shot open. The couple jumped back. They were the intense shimmering blackness of the void, dotted with the sparkling astral bodies of the infinite universe. A lick of fire sparked upon its head as if it were a match. Wings of flame ignited from its back and they flapped furiously. It scurried backwards from them like a crab on its hands and heels as if trying to escape.

It actually looked scared.

"No no no no no!" it cried pitifully, grabbing at its small brow with three fingered hands. Its voice was high pitched and airily feminine.

Aang and Katara exchanged confused glances before Aang took the diplomatic lead.

"It's ok little spirit." He held his hands out, palms open, encouragingly. Its eyes were darting back and forth frantically between the two, and up at Appa as well. "We didn't mean to hurt you… You see, we were just trying to protect our sky bison, Appa. Katara here is a healer, and I'm the Avatar." He didn't dare call her his Genjin this time. "Why were you trying to hurt him?"

"Yooour Bison?" She drawled a hiss and narrowed her eyes at Aang at the mention of 'Avatar' and he winced. Did *every* spirit hate him? "No no no. I wasn't going to hurt him, I was just excited to see him. But you won't trick me human. I don't know how you came by this bison or how he survived- I thought this breed was extinct- but there is no way this is *yours.* Now all remaining bison belong to ME." She rose off the forest floor, beating her little fiery wings to look Aang straight in the eye. He gulped audibly under the Fire Spirit's harsh gaze as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"And there's no such thing as the Avatar."

"Mrawr!" Appa interjected at this.

"It's ok, Bison, I will take you to meet all of your new companions soon." The spirit turned from Aang and flew over to Appa and patted his head.

"Hey! Spirit!" Katara shouted at the sprite. She could see that Aang was getting angry now. His face was reddening and he was holding his breath trying to keep his cool. She put a hand on his shoulder. There was a hint of static around him that she could nearly taste. "Excuse me, but you're wrong. Aang here IS the Avatar. Appa IS his sky bison. And I'm…" she hesitated, last time they had dealt with a spirit things hadn't ended well. She took a breath and laid her hand over her heart. "I'm the Genjin."

The Spirit stopped wuffling Appa's fluffy face and slowly turned towards Katara. Her flaming hair flickered in color, a shock of white light.

"Did… did you just say… 'Genjin?'" she buzzed like a bee to Katara and hovered, inches from her face as well. Katara shivered as she gazed into the black void of the spirit's eyes. She recognized that abyss. The waterbender remained perfectly still as the spirit inspected her face. She blinked twice and the dark pits contracted, exposing the soft whites of her eyes. The sprite was suddenly much less threatening, nearly whispering to herself, thinking out loud. "That's a term I haven't heard in a very very long time. No… no humans know of it anymore. All knowledge of the Genjin died with the Air Nomads and Avatar Roku… Wan Shi Tong's Library isn't even on this plane of existence anymore."

"Well, she is. And I'm the Avatar," Aang was calmer now. The spirit seemed more confused than angry. She was focused on Katara now, staring intently into the woman's deep blue eyes. She reached out as if she was going to touch Katara's tenderly. But she had said something about there being more bison. Aang HAD to find them! "We're trying to fix some of the messes left by the Hundred Year War. We're actually looking for any remaining sky bison. I have to hope there are some left. Do you know where any may be?"

A look of horror crossed the spirit's face and she blinked her eyes completely black again, a snap change in demeanor. She pulled her hand away and retreated from the pair hastily, shaking her head.

"No no no no no!" she began shrieking. "No! You can't have them! I won't let you trick me again! I won't let you hurt them! I'm so sorry 4-banded, I can't stay with you. Get away from these impostors! You know the way to the others."

And with that, she was gone in flash of smoke and crackling blaze of lightening.

Aang and Katara just stood there in shock, mouths gaping at the bizarre exchange that had just occurred. Their adrenaline was draining now that the immediate threat was gone, leaving them shaky. If the Spirit even was a threat.

"Mrwr!" Appa grunted and gave Katara a big, wet, slimy lick across her face.

"Appa!" she shook herself from the trance and wiped the slobber away. She pushed his snout playfully.

"What was that all about, buddy?" Aang asked as he scratched the bison's chin. "Did you know that spirit? What was she talking about?"

"Really Aang…" Katara laughed and bumped her husband with her hip. "You expect them to answer too often." He shot her a dirty look.

"Fine. But that spirit said there are more bison!" Aang's eyes lit up with excitement. "And that Appa knows where they are." He laid against the bison's big head and hugged him. "Did you hear that buddy? You gotta show us!"

"Mrawr!"

* * *

In no time at all they had all the gear packed and back onto Appa's saddle. Aang was nearly vibrating with energy and anticipation. The skies had completely cleared and there was a renewed spring in his step. Things were going to go right.

This time.

Katara tightened down the last bag in the saddle and looked at her husband, worried. He was excited, but what were they going to find this time? And why didn't the spirit believe them. It was quite confused about everything. It didn't seem to believe that Aang was the Avatar… Katara thought ALL the spirits knew them… She settled into the back of the saddle and snuggled Momo while Aang took the reins.

"Yip-yip! Take us to the other bison!"

Appa pumped his tail and pushed off the ground, clearing the treetops and gliding easily on the winds. The sky was welcoming to the little family. Few things were more peaceful than soaring through the vast expanse of the atmosphere together. And the thought of there being more bison? That was just amazing icing on a warm fruit pie.

It wasn't long before the outline of the triple spires of the Eastern Air Temple could be made out in the distance. It was quiet and somber, the sky beginning to tint towards a pink sunset behind them. The day had gotten away from them with all of the excitement. Katara crawled to the front of the saddle and hung over the edge to talk to Aang.

"Hey sweetie? Do we really want to go searching for a heard of bison being guarded by a bipolar Fire Spirit tonight?" Katara tugged at Appa's long musky fur waiting for Aang's response. She was hungry and wearing out, but didn't want to say anything. He turned back to her with a big grin.

"Two master water benders taking on a Fire Spirit at night? We rise with the moon."

"It's not even full yet… not until tomorrow." Katara rolled her eyes at her cheesy partner.

"Doesn't matter. Something's off about this spirit…" Aang tugged at his beard, thinking. "She's weird… and hiding something."

"You mean other than the remaining Sky Bison?" Katara continued.

"Yeah. I really do wish Appa could talk to us. Tell us more."

* * *

They never made it all the way to the temple. There was a glade, hidden deep in the woods several miles from the temple that Appa lead them to. There were fruit trees of every variety scattered about. Papaya, Mango, Pear, Apple, Moon Peaches. Enough diversity that there would be blooms and fruit throughout the summer and fall. Momo didn't even wait for the group to reach land before he dove off into the grove.

After touching down. Aang inspected the trees. Branches were stripped bare of fruit and leaves on the lower branches only. Distinct rectangular bites were scattered on the trees, marring the bark. He hopped up through the boughs easily on his light feet and steady balance. Nothing higher than ten feet was eaten from the trees. Well, insects and birds and various arboreal rodents had made meals of the fruits, but no signs of bison. He shooed Momo away from the branches he was examining.

Katara plucked a pear from high up in the tree with her plant bending. She thankfully munched on it while she ran her hand along the bison bite marks on a lower branch. There were several different sizes of imprint as well. The marks were fresh, still moist. She touched the smaller indentations with her fingertips gently. She could see the green flesh under the edges of the bark. This had been done today.

"Aang! Hey Aa-" she yelled, just to have him drop down from the tree right in front of her, startling her. She stumbled backwards and he caught her around the waist as she was off balance. "Crimeny. You…"

"You love me." He kissed her nose once quickly while she was distracted.

"That's beside the point." She smirked anyways, wiping the tip of her nose and took his hand, pointing at the trunk, "Look at these marks. They're fresh, and they're obviously sky bison- even Long Feng couldn't deny that. But they're…"

"Different sizes!" he finished for her. "There are calves here! Babies! An actual thriving herd! But where are they?" Katara shrugged and swiveled her head back and forth, searching for more clues. She was scanning the sky. "Don't bother looking up there…"

"Why?" She cocked a brow at him as she dropped the pear core to the ground. It settled her stomach for now.

"I don't think the Fire Spirit lets her herd fly. Look." It was his turn to point out a clue, directing her attention to the higher, fruit laden branches.

"So … there are fruit trees, lots of them, perfect for the bison…" she didn't understand at what he was getting at unfortunately.

"Yeah, the lower branches are picked clean, but the upper…" he prodded.

"Oh! The Sky Bison feed… in the sky!" she snapped her fingers as it clicked. She wasn't raised with this kind of livestock. Katara could see the sadness in Aang's eyes. "She… she doesn't let them fly…"

Katara knew how much it hurt Aang whenever he had not been able to glide or airbend. During the time that they hid in the fire nation all those years ago he had sunk into a deep depression. When he had to grow his hair and hid his tattoos. When they had to travel in disguise, with a misty cloud blocking their view of the sky. Even Katara was sad about removing her beads and mother's necklace at the time. She touched the flower carving Aang had given her and thought about the other necklace sitting safely at their home on Air Temple Island waiting for her future child, either to be worn by a daughter or given away by a son.

But Aang. He was so upset about the failure in the Crystal Catacombs. So upset that he had endangered everyone and couldn't risk it again. Couldn't risk losing her. But she couldn't lose him. Katara never quite understood until recently how she was able to find Aang collapsed on that crescent island. Something connected them and she just knew where he was. She was terrified at first when she saw his lifeless body on that beach, assuming she had lost him again- with no hope for reviving him. She freely cried and wrapped him in her arms when he sat up. If everyone else hadn't been there she would have kissed him right then and there and never stopped. But she didn't, and he beat her to it a few weeks later before the invasion.

He was sullen for about a week after that incident on the beach while in hiding. No airbending, his glider sacrificed for the cause. It wasn't until he was able to free his spirit and dance with Katara did he have a change of heart.

"This herd that the Spirit claims to have… I don't think they've ever flown… or at least flown far. Never felt the winds or tasted the clouds." Aang's eyes were downcast and dark; his arms hung limp and heavy by his sides. He was remembering when he couldn't fly as well. When he couldn't laugh at gravity - until he danced with Katara and she kissed his cheek. She made him remember how light his heart could be. He felt he could walk on air in that moment, even if she was his tether to the ground. "They've never had the joy of the open sky."

"Oh sweetie…" she touched his arms lightly, a feathering of fingertips on his skin. "I'm sure she had her reasons…"

"No! It's not right!" He pulled his arm away from her and balled his fists. "No one has the right to ground a sky bison! There can't be any excuse for it! I have to find that herd and free them. And bring them somewhere safe. Where they can be raised and cherished and shared with the world again… and… and… BE ALLOWED TO FLY!"

Katara recoiled at Aang's outburst, but she understood. His anger wasn't directed at her…or really anyone…just the situation. When she spoke, her tone was soft and caring. "I still think there is a perfectly good reason, but I will support you." She reached out, waiting for him to take her hand. His stormy eyes met hers and some of the clouds parted. She could always ground him and release his pain. "Let's go hunting. You've only ever tracked me… and Appa that one time. If they're grounded, we should be able to find them. You use seismic sense and I'll look through the water- I've hunted plenty before."

Aang smiled again and nodded. He kissed her forehead once before dropping to the ground. Aang sunk his hand into the hard soil and closed his eyes, listening. Katara followed suit, but spread her palms across the grass, feeling for the water and interconnected root systems of the plants.

Aang could hear the rodents scurrying along the surface of the forest floor and searched deeper, finding the burrowing animals and an underground spring. He punched the ground with his fist, sending shockwaves along the stone. Like a reflecting wave, the energy hit the underground spring and followed along its current.

"Katara, there's-"

"An underground spring. I feel it. I'm searching along it now." She reached over and touched Appa's flank, reminding herself of the pattern of the flow the water the air bison's blood made. She used that as the guide to ignore any other animals in contact with the water system.

There. Slow and steady. Maybe a dozen distinct pulses in contact with the underground river. "I think…"

"There are caverns. Caves that they're hidden in. Adult air bison! In caves!" Aang was excited and perturbed at the same time.

"To be fair, Appa's mostly scared of caves because of that time we were trapped in the Cave of Two Lovers…" Katara retorted as a voice of reason, sensing Aang's hostility. She grabbed his hand and pressed it to Appa. "Here. Feel for their heartbeats down there. They're not distressed at all."

She kept her hand over his, fingers laced through his, and pushed some of her energy through the three of them and into the water in the ground as well. Aang could feel them too, now that he knew what he was looking for. He piggy backed on Katara's water bending abilities and followed her chi. It always amazed him how well she understood the body now through her healing, always using it in new and innovative ways. She was a lot like her brother when it came to creativity sometimes.

He could feel all of those slow, lumbering pulses. Some were faster, younger. And there was one that he couldn't place, connected to them all through Katara. It was light and very fast, like a woodpecker-lizard tapping out its light staccato… Aang gave Katara a curious questioning look at that but didn't think much of it. It probably just was another animal in the stream. The woods were alive with so much unseen activity. He had heard the faint beat whenever he had been hunting for Katara in the last week, so it just must be something in the area.

But there were the bison. Loud and clear as day in the dark cavern.

"So how do we get to them?" Katara asked, breaking contact with Aang, pulling her hand back from her husband's. She had seen the look in his eye, had felt him touch a secret. A secret she wasn't ready to share yet.

He stomped the ground again with his thin-soled boot. He could sense the whole cavern now, knowing where to look. There it was; the entrance to the cavern. Twisting and turning, following the easiest path between the dense rock.

"I know where it is," he grabbed her hand excitedly and lightly scooped her up into his arms. He swirled up an air scooter and hopped nimbly onto it while cradling his wife lovingly.

"AANG!" was all she could yelp before they spun off dodging trees and brush, wind whipping at their faces in the fading light.

* * *

The entrance to the cave was small, barely big enough for Appa to fit through, but it was obvious that it had been used for bison. Clumps of dirty white and ruddy-brown fur were caught in the brambles and briers surrounding the opening. The strong, musky odor of livestock hung heavily in the air. The ground was worn bare and brown, void of vegetation, packed hard from the frequent use and immense weight of the animals that must traverse the same path daily.

Aang set Katara down and pushed a loose silver hair back behind her ear. He could see the look of feigned annoyance plainly on her face and gave her waist a squeeze.

"Phew! Boy am I glad we have only one of these big guys!" Katara wrinkled her nose at the stench of the area.

"Mrumph!" Appa harrumphed behind her, touching down heavily behind them. He had followed them wanting to meet this herd.

"No offense buddy, I'm just not a sky bison!" Katara winced and patted his nose. "You left Momo all by himself to eat himself drunk, didn't you. Oh well, we'll find him later. We know *he* won't wander off if there's abundant food."

"Appa probably thinks human cities stink…" Aang pointed out nonchalantly. "What do you think boy? Other bison!"

Appa was as excited as his human companion. He was pacing and bounding like a giant polar bear-puppy. His ears were twitching and his tongue was lolling out as he snuffled at the air.

"You can stay out here if you want, I know you don't like caves," Aang continued, "I want to bring the herd out here. They deserve the sky, not just birthing caves.

"Birthing caves?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, the bison will actually den down somewhere safe like a cave to give birth because the calves can't fly for a week or so," he answered informatively. "Unlike serval-deer that can run after just a few hours or rab-i-roos that can hide in their mother' pouches, sky bison calves have no good defenses against predators like platypus-bears or saber-tooth moose-lions. They're really helpless."

"Oh yes… ten ton magical flying, airbending parents aren't a good enough defense?" Katara rolled her eyes at the irony. She remembered when Appa literally scared the egg out of a platypus-bear once.

"Well… not when there were dragons too…" Aang scowled. With the exception of Ran and Shaw, the dragons were gone too.

"Oh. Right." Katara made a mental note of the fact that that would probably be another wild goose chase in their future as well… Maybe she'd just send Zuko and Aang on that one together… they can deal with dragons again… a water bender wants nothing to do with that insanity. "After you, sweetie."

Aang smiled and palmed a handful of flame and stepped inside the cave with Katara right behind him. He started humming an old repetitive tune and Katara laughed and gave him a little hip check. He snaked his free hand around her waist and pulled her tight, planting a solid kiss to her mouth.

"I guess we won't die now, right?" Katara ran her hand along his scruffy jaw.

"Nope! It worked last time, didn't it? Assumed it would work again." He slid his hand into hers as he looked down the tunnel. "I would much rather kiss you than die. It's a compliment"

"It was never a compliment. You just wanted to kiss me and didn't know how to not be an awkward dork…" She squeezed his hand.

"Well… yeah. I'm less of an awkward dork now! Or else you wouldn't have married me!"

"Oh no. If you had ever STOPPED being an awkward dork I wouldn't have married you…"

They fell into pleasant silence as they made their way through the black passage. Surprisingly, Appa followed willingly behind them. Here and there they had to avoid stepping in large bison leavings. Their dim shadows stretched out on the walls, wavering in the flickering light. It was cool and damp and they could hear the drippings of the condensed moisture plinking down from stalactites and the distant flow of the stream.

And the murmurings and shufflings of the bison herd splashing in it.

* * *

They walked for a long time following the sounds and the path. There was a slight, but noticeable decline in the slope and Aang could feel the weight of all the tons of earth pressing down around them. Whenever the tunnel split Aang would lean over and kiss Katara again and laugh that love was what told him the right way to go… but it was actually the sound of the herd echoing down the chambers. And the tell-tale fur and other leavings.

Eventually the tunnel began to widen into a cavern and a light began to glow off in the distance. It shifted and wavered, indicating fire. The couple ducked behind a damp stalagmite to observe the scene and Aang extinguished his flame. Following the curve of the rock, there were several holes in the great dome of a ceiling that rose above them where stars could be seen twinkling in the darkness. Along the floor they could see the wide, slow flowing stream cutting through the center of the vast arena-like area.

And there were the bison. A herd of about three dozen adults and half as many calves . They were splashing in the water or dozing around the outskirts of the area. Or zooming to and fro. There was enough room for the young to fly around the space. Far to the end of the cavern was a decent sized fire providing light and warmth. From the odor in the area, it was probably fed by the dried, fibrous scat. It was a sickly sweet, pungent smell, but not overwhelming. Truly foul excrement came from omnivores, not herbivores.

The Fire Spirit was flitting back and forth between all of the bison. She was brushing through their fur, cleaning it of burr-docks and tending to any sort of little needs they may have. She was highly attentive to their movements and concerns, caring for each one like it was her child.

Aang slowly rose up from behind his hiding place and just stared in wonder, tears welling in his eyes. His heart was nearly bursting with joy. He hadn't seen any bison other than Appa in so long. A piece of his soul that he hadn't realized had been broken and shattered healed in an instant. Katara grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, their entwined energies jumping back and forth between the two of them. She could feel his heartbeat quicken with the elation.

"Mreep!" a little calf bleated at them. It had somehow gotten the jump on them and snuck around behind them. Both Aang and Katara jumped, startled. Katara fell back on her haunches and laughed as the calf scrambled on top of her, slobbering a sloppy kiss with its big scratchy tongue. It was about the size of a large goat-dog and it had ruddy-brown ears and seven stripes down it's cream colored back. It's fur was thicker and softer than Appa's, being so young.

"Hey little buddy!" Aang exclaimed and scratched at the animal's ears, trying to gently remove it from on top of his wife. "You're adorable! I'm so glad you're not scared of us!"

"You! What are you doing here!" the Fire Spirit shrieked at them as she buzzed over angrily. She shooed the little calf away, who bleated his objection at her, but obeyed and bounded back toward the herd. "No humans are to harass my herd."

"Look here, Spirit," Aang began. He put a hand on his hip and pointed furiously at her like Katara would when dealing with a disobedient student. He was done with this uppity sprite. Spirit or not, Aang was going to give her a piece of his mind. "I've had enough of this. Bison are meant to be partnered with humans. They're social animals that need a companion in addition to their herd!"

"What would you know about the needs of the Sky Bison, Human. You would just abuse and misuse them," she scowled at him. "No humans know how to care for Sky Bison anymore."

"Monkey feathers… I've already told you I'm the Avatar. Look at me! I HAVE A SKY BISON RIGHT HERE. I'm wearing Air Nomad robes!" Aang threw his arms wide and twisted back and forth, showing off his long orange and yellow robes. He pointed at his forehead. " I have Master Airbending tattoos! I'm the last air bender. I KNOW HOW TO CARE FOR AIR BISON!"

"You're wearing water tribe beads also…There is a collection of humans inhabiting the Eastern Air Temple just a little ways from here," the Spirit narrowed her eyes at Aang, thoroughly unconvinced. "They wear clothing just like this and some even sport the tattoos… and they are as much air benders as this woman is the Genjin. If you truly were who you said you were, she'd be an air nomad as well… but she's obviously a water bender. And you are too- from trapping me with that icecap in the tree to the ice wall that knocked me out!"

"For crying out loud," Katara said, wiping the bison slobber off and whisking it away. "How are you so dense? Have you been hiding under this rock the whole time? Those are the Air Acolytes! And the Genjin time line got messed up when Aang got frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years. Aang… just show her."

Aang nodded and shook his head in frustration, but centered himself anyways. He didn't like wasting his energy this way, but if he had to glow up for this spirit, then so be it. He closed his eyes and planted his fists together in front of his chest. The pressure in the cave dropped around him as the wind swirled. The rock beneath his feet shifted and water from the stream flowed over the ground towards him. Fire danced and sparked on the air as his tattoos began to shimmer with their unearthly light. He opened his eyes and the power and ferocity which shone through was breathtaking. Aang was lifted from the ground as the full force of the Avatar State poured through his body.

"Fire Spirit! Know me and believe!" Aang's voice was deep and harsh, overlaid with the echos of a hundred lifetimes of Avatars. "I am the Avatar. I AM the great bridge between our worlds. I may have been lost for a period of time, but I have NOT abandoned you."

The Spirit shielded herself from the pulse of energy that erupted from Aang in a single blast of raw strength. It danced along Katara's chi paths as well and gently caressed her familiar spirit. The power was awesome.

In an instant, Aang was silent and steady again, his life force calm and mellow as he stood before the cowering spirit.

"Now Spirit, please, may I know your name so that we may continue this conversation as friends and allies." Aang's words were quiet and humbly pleading. "I wish no harm upon you or your herd of bison here. On the contrary. I wish for them to be restored to their rightful places in this world. I need to know what happened here."

"My apologizes Avatar," she whispered, shaken as if she had seen the dead rise. Her inky, abyssal eyes faltered to calm and showed white. She averted her eyes from his gaze for a moment, before looking back up to Aang and glanced to Katara as well, nodding her respect. "I am called Huo Shenxian and I thought you had been destroyed over a century ago. I had lost faith and hope. Please join me by the fire and I will tell you everything. You deserve to know. Someone NEEDS to know."

With the herd of Sky Bison surrounding the new bison, the humans, and their spritely caretaker, Huo Shenxian settled near the fire and began to tell her story.


	13. The Banished Spirit's Tale

**Warning: this gets gory. This is also where my totally new stuff begins! yea! finally! Hopefully It won't be too long before I get another piece out! Please R &R**

* * *

 _The Banished Spirit's Tale_

It was an interesting scene deep in that Earth Kingdom cave on the outskirts of the Easter Air Temple Territory. A newly found herd of sky bison cajoling in an underground spring. A nervous tiny sprite-like Fire Spirit of a caretaker. Two of the most powerful humans on the planet. All nestled around a scat-fueled fire as the sprite began her tale.

"It was about a hundred and twenty five years ago when I was tricked by Firelord Sozin. I was a young and naïve spirit, only a few hundred years old myself. I had been recently appointed as a Mortal Realm Guardian when he came. I was so excited and proud of myself. I had been kind of a clumsy spirit and to finally be given a Mortal Realm position, even one as trivial as Sky Bison Guardian, was a big deal to me. I know what you're thinking: a Fire Spirit in charge of Sky Bison? That doesn't make sense. But it doesn't matter what kind of spirit you are. Some don't possess any elemental control, and some control elements and energies humans can't even fathom." She took a deep breath and slowed her story down. The words were tumbling out so fast. She probably hadn't spoken to any sentient being in a century. "Anyway. The elders didn't think I could mess this task up. Boy did I prove them wrong…I've been in exile ever since…" she fell silent and shifted on her stone perch uneasily. She left little scorch marks on everything she touched. Her fiery hair was dim.

"What did you do?" Katara tentatively touched Shenxian's tiny shoulder with her fingertip. She was as warm as she had felt earlier.

"It's my fault… it's all my fault," she shook her head and buried her little face in her three fingered hands. ""I… I told him. Led him right into the temple. Showed him everything. The gardens, the stables, the nurseries. I thought he wanted peace. He was so convincing and charismatic. He said that Avatar Roku was his best friend since childhood. I read his energies and spirit. He was telling the truth. He said that he wanted to make sure the next Avatar was brought up safe and well- in honor of that friendship. I never knew… we never knew, until it was too late. I introduced him to the other nuns and they were fooled as well. By the time I realized my mistake, his forces were in place," she started sobbing- quite the interesting thing to behold. Somehow she had steaming tears pouring from her eyes. They sizzled and crackled, turning her skin black like cold water-touched lava. They looked painful. "When the Great Comet came he knew EXACTLY where to have his armies strike. There was no defense against their might. I was able to hide a small herd of wild 7-banded bison during the first wave of attacks. The more common domesticated 4-banded, like Appa, were completely wiped out."

Aang was silent, oscillating between despair and rage. Katara held his hand tight.

"When I asked him 'Why? Why would you do this? Avatar Roku is your friend!' He just laughed, engulfed in the all consuming, all powerful flames of the comet's power. He said 'Avatar Roku WAS my friend. But now he's dead. And the Avatar line is dead too.' I thought that he meant that Avatar Roku died while in the Avatar State, or maybe he had found the Air Nomad avatar as a child… so there would be no more avatar, but obviously that was just another one of his lies."

"Oh Shenxian, I'm so sorry. I'm sure you did everything you could…" Katara was trying to ignore her husband shaking at her side. "We all make mistakes, we've all been duped at one point or another. It's not your fault. He fooled everyone. You're one of the victims managed to save this herd though!"

"I saw it all." She blinked vacantly into the fire, the dancing lights reflecting and refracting in the pits of her eyes, black charred streaks of tears staining her face. She was remembering, reliving the horror, ignoring Katara's consoling words. Her hair dimmed even more and the flames fell about her face. "I watched them all burn. I tried to channel the energy away from them. Away from the people, away from the bison, but the armies overwhelmed me, the stress nearly tore me apart…. Literally. I was there for every birth of a bison or human at this temple. I was there for their births and their deaths. I remember them all. Fire is life. Or at least it was."

"Like a little heartbeat…" Aang's voice quivered as he spoke finally. He noticed Katara shift uneasily at his words, but she just knew he was upset, right? He took his anger and let it go. This Spirit had obviously been punishing herself for over a century. "Zuko and I discovered that years ago from the Sun Warriors. The Fire Nation lost sight of their ancestors. Lost sight of fire being life. I… I know what trying to channel that kind of energy is like." He lifted his tunic and showed her the scars striping his body like a tiger-seal. She flew over, amazed, and reached out and touched a scar on his chest with wonder. Her tiny hand was gentle and sparked with familiar fire energy. "I'm sure you did everything you could."

"I…remembered Appa… and he remembered me. He would run in circles chasing his own shadow when he was little. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him! I never imagined that he became the companion of the Avatar. I was so excited that he had somehow survived when no other 4-banded bison did. And that over a hundred years later he was still alive." She rung her hands and pushed her flaming hair away from her cheeks, igniting it straight up again. "I'm sorry I took him with me in the first place. And then I was confused when he left me this morning. I caused the lightening during that storm to keep you distracted when I found him again. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I was hoping to find him a mate. The species can cross breed…"

Katara gasped. "Oh Aang! Could you imagine Appa as a daddy?" Katara grabbed Aang's arm. Her heart was racing at all the possibilities. What if…

"He… he doesn't have to be the last one…" Aang whispered, a hot tear rolling down his face. It was a sentiment Aang echoed in himself, bitterly jealous. What if he truly was the last airbender? What if he and Katara never had an airbending child… or even worse, no child at all… that could happen too. Aang shook himself. This wasn't about him. This was about Appa, and all the remaining sky bison. "Of course! If you have a suitable mate for Appa, by all means!" The thoughts and questions started tumbling from Aang's mouth, hurried as if he didn't ask the question, the answer would disappear, lost forever like the sky bison. " But… I have to know… why are you keeping the bison cooped up like this? Why haven't they been reintroduced to humans? I can tell from the grazing on the trees that they aren't allowed to fly freely. You know that's where they belong. The Hundred Year War ended over a decade ago. You must have realized that the Fire Nation raids ended… Just… Why?"

"Because Avatar," her eyes went vacant and all star-filled ebony again. "Humans have found my herd. Poachers have been picking off my bison calves one by one, slaughtering them for their soft young pelts and adult meat and horns. Leaving their skinned carcasses out to rot and be pecked apart by buzzard wasps. I've had to light incense to cover the stench of putrefied flesh. At least during the massacre little was left to decay, everyone was just… incinerated. If I'm not guarding them day and night, another gets lost. And I have so few."

Poachers. Human poachers. But where could the poachers be selling the contraband?

* * *

"Don't worry. We'll take care of this," Katara spoke up first. She understood hunting for food and survival, but poaching for skin only? Or attacking an already decimated population? That was just wrong. If people needed the meat or furs, there were PLENTY of other species that could be used.

The little air bison that had found them earlier nudged up to Katara for head scratches. She smiled and brushed her hand along its furry crown and rubbed its velvety soft ears between her fingertips. It was such a sweet creature. She felt Aang rest his hand on her hip and she laid back against his chest, his beard beads brushing her scalp. She was suddenly aware of how exhausted she was. They had been going pretty hard since dawn and it was well past moonrise. She was completely spent. The sound of the splashing stream, crackling fire, and Aang's steady heartbeat we're lulling her into welcome oblivion.

"What Katara said," Aang concurred, "we'll figure this out. We can't lose more bison. There's so few. The species deserves the chance. Future generations of air benders will need their companions!"

The fire spirit looked inquisitively at Aang and Katara, her black eyes ticking back and forth. And a quick glance at Katara's belly.

She could read energies. She knew.

"But Avatar, you ARE the last Airbender... It would take a spiritual awakening, the likes of which this world hasn't seen in ten thousand years, to revitalize the dormant abilities in the diluted race. Especially since the waterbending Genjin here is-" Shenxian began.

"Going to do everything in her power to see to that happening then," Katara cut her off abruptly. No need for layers of worry. She stared hard at the spirit. The spirit hiccuped a little to cover her surprise at the abrupt response. The little bison calf just snuggled in next to Katara.

"... But yes, the bison... What do you propose we do, Avatar, Genjin?" Shenxian shifted uneasily under the water bender's stern gaze. Aang couldn't see the withering look on Katara's face.

"I have some ideas," Aang said, stroking his thumb along the crest of Katara's hip. Her head was bobbing, suddenly unable to stay awake. "We probably need to relocate the herd, but we also need to learn more about the poachers. Who they are, where they come from, where they're selling their contraband. This is bigger than just this herd. They could be poaching other species, they could be doing other illegal trade. Their clients need brought to justice as well. Procuring ill gotten goods is wrong too." Aang chuckled softly at the thought. How different things were. Years ago they would scam and scheme and steal when needed to survive... Or learn, like the water bending scroll his wife had swiped from pirates way back then.

Katara also lost her fight against sleep at that point- his droning had put her to sleep. He slid her head to his lap gently and stroked her temple. She let out a soft snore and tightened her grip on his thigh. It was precariously high on his leg. He palmed the ground an softened the rock beneath her so it conformed to her and supported her in her sleep. She looked so peaceful and beautiful in the flickering firelight.

"I'll tell her in the morning," he signed with a smile and stroked her face lovingly. Aang looked back to the Fire Spirit, "But we can palaver. Anyways. I need to know more. Tell me anything you can about the raids."

"I... I don't know much honestly..." Shenxian replied sheepishly, her red hair shifting to a somber light blue. " My herd had grown to about a hundred animals. I was thinking of introducing myself to the... Air Acolytes? They seemed like good people. Not air benders, but good people. Then the raids started about a year ago. I didn't even realize the first time they came. Slipped in and out silently in the middle of the night. I never felt their presence, like they were shielded from me somehow. The next morning animals were just gone. Young, old, whatever may have been about. No footprints from the assailants, just the bison prints. Looked like they wandered off and never returned. If they had gotten attacked by a predator, there would have been some kind of sign, but there wasn't. No struggle, no blood." She stopped speaking and rung her hands, shiny black burning tears glistening and steaming down her cheeks again. "It was several months before I came across the first carcass. That's when I knew it had to have been humans. Up until then, my gentle, trusting bison were just being led away."

"It was an adult, left out to rot. It had been flayed and skinned, its body just left behind, a mess of blood and bone and organs. Flanks of muscle were missing. I have no idea what kind of instruments they used or how they did it. The wounds were... Sloppy, but not jagged like it had been a knife or sword that had killed it and stripped the body of skin and meat. The area was torn up like it had fought something, but there was no evidence of a killing blow. Like the animal stopped breathing and just died or something…That's when I started hiding the herd at night."

Aang was reeling at this revelation. It was horrific. And he had so little to go on. Benders? Other Spirits? But who? Who wouldn't leave a trace? Maybe good earth benders could cover their tracks, but tools of some sort would need to be used still. And an earth bending attack leaves a body battered. And this had been going on for a year!

"Have all the raids been like that since? Leaving the bodies? Any sort of pattern?" He just needed more information.

"No. They're off and on, usually the animals are just gone, sometimes just carcasses. But the times that the bodies are left are showing signs that... The attackers are getting better. Less struggle, less messy. And it's still both young and old... But they'll take young more readily. The only pattern I can tell is that they're opportunistic. I've had less bison slipping away at night, so fewer have been taken. Of course I have so few to watch over now..."

She flitted to the fire on her little wings and pushed some more debris into it, stoking it with a wave of fire bending. She had fallen into a silent waking nightmare. Aang thought for a bit. Obviously the bison couldn't stay here, but where could he take them that the fire spirit would feel safe? And he needed to find the poachers. He racked his brain over the whole world...

"I got it!" he piped up cheerily, and then winced, not wanting to disturb Katara. She stirred and turned but didn't wake. Shenxian looked up at Aang, her dark eyes hopeful. "We move the herd, obviously. There's a perfect spot in the Fire Nation."

"But-"The Sprite looked mortified. Aang shook his head and waved his hand to placate her.

"No no no. Let me finish. There's an ancient Fire Sage Temple on Bhanti Island in the southern Fire Nation. The Fire Nation is good now... Well, was always good, just had bad management. They're under new management… have been for a while…But they're good now..." He was rambling like he did sometimes when he had an idea he needed to spit out, but couldn't collect his thoughts. It almost got him boiled in oil once...

"Anyway. It's full of priests and priestesses. Barely anyone knows it exists. It was forgotten about during the war and they kept to themselves. Peaceful, spiritual Fire Nation citizens sent their fire bending daughters there for upbringing instead of feeding the war machine. They're very much like the Air temples... Just Fire Sages instead of Air Nomads. We could take the herd there. You could raise and protect them with other fire benders and reconnect with your own kind… so to speak. Maybe they could even get you... UN-banished from the spiritual plane?" This could work. It had too! "Once the herd is bigger again, split it. Bring them back here for the Air acolytes. By then we'll have taken care of the poachers. You can't be responsible for ALL of the remaining bison! That's too big of a task for anyone."

The more Aang talked, the more excited Shenxian became. Her flaming hair was waving bright red and orange above her crown and her eyes were flashing. A jubilant smile broke across her face.

"Oh yes, Avatar! That sounds delightful! That sounds perfect! I didn't know the Bhanti Tribe was still around! I know just where they are! We need to get started right away!" She was clapping her funny three fingered hands and bouncing up and down, a little ball of eager energy. "I can start leading the herd there at sunrise! You'll join us, won't you?"

"Not quite yet. I don't know if you'll like this, but I have a request first." His stomach turned at what he was about to say, but there was a bigger picture at stake. He reached over and pet the calf that had curled up next to Katara, its big fat head resting on her belly, gently raising up and down with her breath. Slimy drool was seeping out of its half open snout, staining her dress. "We need to figure out who these poachers are. They're opportunistic. We need to draw them back out. We need bait."

* * *

Aang was uneasy as they waited in the brush covered stone bunker he had created the following evening. It felt wrong using the air bison calf as bait for the poachers, but he had to do something to find out who they were, where they came from, and where they were selling their ill gotten goods. An adult wouldn't be as much of a draw. The Fire Spirit had said they took more calves than adults when they could. Adult bison were incredibly dangerous.

He glanced up at the full moon bathing his wife's face in it's beautiful light and was thankful and disgruntled at the same time.

Katara's bending would be nearly unstoppable against any non water bender. Her strength and power under the pull of the full moon was awesome and terrifying... And unimaginably exhilarating. Making love to her on nights like this was a guilty pleasure dipped in honeyed cyanide. But how he craved it. It had been months since he had enjoyed that opportunity.

"Aang," Katara whispered and lightly touched her husband's arm, snapping him out of his lurid thoughts. Her finger tips tingled and energy danced across his skin without her even trying. He pushed down his innoppurtune desires. Not tonight. Next month. "How long are we going to wait for these poachers? Just tonight? Days?"

It was a good question. The stake out could stretch on and on... He thought for a moment...

"Let's just wait tonight. If they don't show, we'll take this one to join the herd with the Fire Sages Temple as planned anyways. If they do come, hopefully we can learn who they are and where their operations take place." He bit back bile at what he was about to say... "And we may have to sacrifice this calf to learn this."

He could feel her fingers tightened around his arm.

"We can't do that! The poor baby!... The poor mother.. " Katara was horrified at the thought and instinctively placed her hand against her lower abdomen protectively. "You've said every life is precious, no matter what!"

Aang scrunched his eyes closed and hung his head in his hands. "I know... That's my teachings as a monk. But to be the Avatar is to be one with the WHOLE world. My duty to this Shenxian and these remaining Air Bison is... Bigger than this one small life... Oh Spirits, I can't believe I even said that. It makes me feel sick."

Katara pulled away from him... One small life for the greater good... What was he saying? What could that mean for... Her secret?

Aang could feel his wife's spirit recoil in disgust. He hated himself for saying it. EVERY life IS precious. He could only hope that they would just steal this one like the Fire Spirit said the poachers did usually. They could follow them and rescue it then.

"Don't be like that Katara, please," he begged. "We're going to follow them and return that little bison. I... discussed it with Shenxian while you were asleep. She doesn't like it, but agrees it's for the best. Risk one to save them all... Isn't that what we did all those years ago to fight Firelord Ozai?"

"We risked ourselves... I risked you... But we didn't put innocents in harm's way..." She was bitter at what he had said.

"Didn't we? How many of your tribe, and of the Foggy Swamp tribe, and of the Earth Kingdom did we lead to their dooms on the day of Black Sun?" He shot back. Why was she so angry at this. She knew the stakes. "How many Fire Nation soldiers did we kill? Who knows their stories? Like at the Gufeng Valley, how many were there against their will, and we just snuffed them out? Sacrifices have to be made sometimes."

He would never forgive himself for the loss on the Day of Black Sun. So many mistakes during the war. So many bright candles blown out. They should have known the Fire Nation knew about the invasion plan! It had been conceived in Ba Sing Se! All of the preparations had been made right there. Katara was literally carrying the battle plans when Azula caught her. The city that had all the plans and generals who knew the plans, had been taken! Looking back at what foolish children they were some times was humiliating.

"It doesn't mean I like it..." Katara turned coldly away from him. "I'll support you and follow your lead, but I don't like it."

"I love you," he quietly whispered. No matter what, always let her know that, he thought.

"I love you too," she sighed back. They could fight like cat-hounds, but would have each other's backs. She slid her hand into his and squeezed it once before returning to her hostile reservations.

A tense silence stretched between them. It was the best Aang could hope for in that moment.

"Keep watch with your eyes, I'm going to focus on the earth," he instructed. He waited for her nod before closing his eyes and tapping the ground with his staff. "I have a feeling they might be earth benders if they're not leaving tracks."

The area was laid out for him to view with unseeing eyes. The bison calf, unwarily eating mangoes. The tremors of the rest of the herd in the distant cavern. So many heartbeats of all the animals nearby that he had to block them out. Took note, then ignored so he could listen for new movements. Katara sitting silently beside him. Her heartbeat was the loudest of all. That familiar melody that could lull him to sleep or ignite all of his dreams. And there was that fast flutter beat again. It must be a local animal. Inquisitive as he was, he really wanted to find the source of that pulse.

Katara watched over the area, eyes darting back and forth at every little movement. Vigilant. Aang would probably sense anyone long before she did, feeling for them through the rock of their bunker. She couldn't feel any plant water in there, but it was a calculated hiding place. Energy danced along her skin, itching to be released into the night. Making love to Aang under the full moon would be a much more enjoyable use of the night than sitting here waiting for poachers who may or may not come.

Katara knew Aang was right. It was just a sky bison, right? Greater good? It's not like she hadn't sacrificed countless animals for food... What made this any different? Besides, they would learn from this sacrifice. Her logic and reason were at war with her hormones and emotions.

It would be a long, boring night, she thought to herself.

* * *

Hours ticked by and the moon rose and began to descend towards the horizon, its pull still constant. Night insects crescendo-ed their calls and slid back into silent oblivion. The pair remained alert and silent, not wanting to miss a thing.

Aang never felt them coming. Katara saw them, sensed them, first.

They slid across the terrain on flowing rivers of ice. The only sound they made was the distinct murmur of flowing water. Waterbenders. Their bending under the full moon was near perfect as they stealthily surrounded the calf.

Katara seethed with a low boiling rage. How dare they. She could feel the push of the water they rode on, but couldn't connect to it like she could through the plants, trapped in this secretive boulder. She wanted to trip them up and freeze them with their own water, but that wasn't the plan.

Aang was oblivious as well, in a near meditative state, focusing on the earth below him. He never felt the water coming. Katara grabbed Aang's arm and covered his mouth with her hand to stifle his surprised response. His stormy, confused eyes popped open and locked with hers. They were so pretty. But he saw the urgency in her bright blue orbs and followed her nod out of the bunker. His breath stopped.

There were at least a dozen masked men in black. Well. Men and women, Aang wasn't sure. Their numbers were overkill for just one calf, but the small army was evidently prepared to take as many bison as they could find. Fortunately for the herd, only one was out tonight.

They were in three groups of four, each group led by a water bender who was concealing their movements with a sheet of flowing ice. No wonder Shenxian never noticed them and they left no evidence. She couldn't sense their bending. Just like how he didn't feel them with the seismic sense. Any water would just seep into the ground without a trace. No footprints.

They were excellent. Coordinated. Communicating silently with tiny hand movements. They slid out, canvasing the whole area. Aang swiped his hand along the inside of the rock and quickly slid the opening to their bunker closed to just a slit for concealment. The team passed by the boulder, not noticing it. When Aang opened the bunker window back up he knew the calf was in trouble.

It had no idea it was surrounded until it was too late.

Ice shackles rose from the ground plants and held it in place. It gave out a single cry of alarm before it fell silent. It wasn't moving at all, just completely still in place like a statue.

Aang shot Katara a look of complete bewilderment. But Katara's heart stopped. She knew exactly what was going on. The bison calf wasn't moving because it couldn't. The only thing in the world that would be able to move in this situation was her.

The calf was being controlled by a blood bender.

* * *

"Lucky find..." A deep, gravelly voice murmured softly through the crowd. It was a thirteenth assailant. Another water bender, sliding silently in on his own ice ramp. He was tall and broad shouldered, covered in black like the rest, but his mask was red. Blood red in the soft moonlight. He was holding his hands out as if pulling the strings of a puppet.

The puppet was the calf.

Katara grabbed at Aang, willing him to bring down the rock bunker and intervene. He saw the panic in his wife's eyes, but put a finger to his lip and shook his head 'no.'

Aang didn't realize it was a blood bender! Didn't fully understand the danger. Katara lived every full moon with that evil power. It was like a dark spirit whispering insanity into her psyche every month. When her mind would wander into dark realms where she realized the savage and creative things such a power could do. She would instead turn that malicious power to love. There was no love here. This was going to end dreadfully.

"That little bitch of a Fire Spirit must have gotten herself in another tizzy and lost track of this little one," he sneered through the half mask, a coarse, gravelly sound. "That sprite must be the most gullible, dense being on Earth not to realize how dangerous the full moon is for her herd. How only on the full moon can I make this happen... Oh well, her loss... Our GAIN!"

He curled his fingers into talon-like claws and pulled his hands apart. He was noticeably straining at the effort, as if his fingers were digging through thick clay instead of the air. The terrified bison fought in vain against his hold. Tried crying out in agony, but it had no voice, trapped in the blood bender's grasp. It's furry hide began undulating and convulsing. At first Aang and Katara couldn't tell what was happening, but slowly the atrocity revealed itself.

Slices in the bison's skin appeared around each of its six paws. More slits appeared at the corners of its mouth. Its eyes were rolling in the sockets in pain and confusion. Dark purple began to show- the red flesh diluted in the pale blue moonlight. But the blood wasn't flowing. The underlying vessels hadn't be ruptured. Humans bleed much more readily than other animals. The man had complete control over all of the water in the beast.

With a slow, sickening rip, the animal's skin began to peal away before their eyes. From it's face, from it's legs. There must have been a slit created down its soft belly because that skin was curling in on itself as well. The red meat of the animal was slowly revealed as the cruel blood bender skillfully extracted the pelt from the bison. He was flaying the poor creature alive.

Aang clamped his hand over his wife's mouth to stifle her scream as hot tears poured down his own face. He had never realized that kind of power existed in blood bending. Couldn't fathom a person doing something like that…Could his sweet gentle wife do that? Watching the horror unfold before his eyes and doing nothing about it was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do in his life. Old Aang would have rushed in, elements ablazing and just wrecked havoc on them. New Aang had grown up and needed more information on these men. Waylaying them now wouldn't tell him if there were more. Justice wouldn't be done.

Stick to the plan, no matter how sickening it was.

He would follow them in his glider and Katara would join up with the rest of the herd already on their way to the Fire Temple. Several dozen Fire Mages in addition to a powerful Fire Spirit would suffice. They would protect and raise the herd. Barely anyone knew the docile Temple still existed. He hoped.

It took several minutes, but the masked bender successful pealed every last inch of skin away from the dying calf, turning it inside out like a discarded tunic. With a disgusting, wet flop, it came completely undone an plopped to the ground. A few of the nearest foul minions rushed over to take the hide. The bison calf's body fell to its side in a messy heap with a gag of ice from a different bender now in place to keep it quiet.

"There... Wasn't that so much easier than skinning by hand back at the compound?" The masked man huffed, winded at the stress of the complex and draining bending. "And while it's alive, the blood stays off the hide..." The lackey held the skin up for the man's inspection. "Oh yes. This will do nicely. Our buyers in Republic city will pay handsomely for this piece."

"What about the carcass, sir." A woman's voice hissed out.

The man turned back to the remains... Which were still breathing.

"Leave it. Too skinny. Too messy. We got what we came for."

The rest of the gang nodded in agreement, then took off back into the forest with uncanny speed on the bending ice.

* * *

With the water benders gone the vitreous was now able to start flowing. The calf began thrashing and shaking as it the pain overwhelmed it. Thin membranes holding the blood against muscle and vein ripped open against the ground and the calf began to rapidly bleed out, the life giving liquid seeping out of every inch of its body. The sound that it was making, a gurgling scream, was mortifying. It was a relief that the calf's mother was countless leagues away after leaving at dawn. And that Appa and Momo were deep in the hidden cavern.

Aang had dropped the rock wall from around them and the pair rushed to the calf's side. Katara was sobbing and running her glowing fingers over its skinless flanks but she knew it was useless. There was no healing this.

"Katara..." Aang said, choking on her name. "Please, let it rest... Put it at peace..."

"You do it! It was your plan," she shrieked back, her hands trembling with grief and anger.

"I ... Can't..."

"Oh yes, your fucking precious monk morals..." she snapped.

"It's not like that..." He was a mess and heartbroken. At the torturous loss, and his wife's anger. At himself for the whole thing. "Your... Your healing and bloodbending would be more humane than what I would have to do. You're more skilled in that way than I am."

She turned her tear stained face towards him in the soft moonlight. It was streaked with sweat and blood and viciously angry.

"I hate you right now..." she snarled, baring her teeth at him like a wild polar bear dog.

"I know. I do too," was all he could say.

She turned back to the animal. The metallic sting in the air of so much blood assaulted her senses. She had seen plenty of skinned, messy corpses before, and they we obscene out on the stark white iceflows. But that was so long ago and for survival in the Frozen wasteland of the south pole. Every part of the animal was used, and ceremonies thanking them for their sacrifice were performed.

To have another water bender, a whole team... a small tribe... do this to an animal? It was cruel and wrong and soul shattering.

The bison was weakly banging its head against the ground, leaving bloody prints where its face slapped the dirt.

"Calm down girl, calm down," she said soothingly and placed her hand on its head. One on its head and one on its flank, near it's heart. Aang gasped as he recognized the hand positions from when he removed Firelord Ozai's bending. Heart and mind. What he had done was spiritual. What Katara was doing was physical. "I'm so sorry little guy. I'm so sorry. This will take the pain away..."

Katara closed her eyes and her hand flashed brightly with the energy. It was purple in hue, the blue covered in so much crimson. Under the full moon she needed no other water than what was in the calf for her skillful bending. Just like that masked monster. She searched with her mind's eye. Followed the veins and arteries. Found the arteries to the brain. Found the veins leaving the heart. She blocked each with a single clot. Cut off the flow immediately like a chi blocker.

But instead of subdual, she was killing. A chi blocking blood bender would be terrifying.

The calf stopped moving and fell completely still and slack, not rigid like before. It's life force was gone. She had never taken a life with her bending this directly- spearing fish wasn't as visceral and intimate as this was. To hold this kind of power, to know it existed. If she could figure it out, could that monster do it to? Would he use this ability on humans? He was obviously quite skilled in body manipulation.

Katara fell back as well, completely spent of energy and emotion. Aang caught her against his chest. and cradled her in his arms. He sat there on the wet darkening ground sobbing, fat tears falling onto her face, washing the sticky blood away.

* * *

*Nudge nudge nudge...*

Something was pushing against Aang's head. He shook it off and held Katara tighter in his arms, his hands gently rising and falling with her steady breath. He buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply her sweet perfumes. Water and salt and grass and...

And...

Blood.

So much blood.

His eyes shot open and he squinted in the early morning light. Katara's shape was safely in his arms as they laid on the ground. Her hair was matted and stuck in clumps from the dried blood. He glanced up to see two huge green eyes and long ears inches from his face. Momo's berry-purple stained snout poked Aang in the face again. He darted his little tongue out and licked Aang's cheek.

In the tumultuous aftermath of the attack- that abomination of water bending power that they were privy to- the couple had fallen asleep in utter exhaustion. Aang had managed to move them away from the corpse before collapsing beside his wife.

Katara stirred, awoken by her husband's movements and tight grip. Her mind shifted into consciousness and revolting visions of the night came flooding back to her mind. She sat up suddenly in a cold sweat in the warm morning sun. She glanced around the area and her eyes tracked to the red motionless mound. In the sunshine the shiny white tendons stood out against the ruddy fibrous muscle. Pockets of yellow fat bulged along its belly. The flesh was already starting to dry. Black clouds of flies had descended upon the body, eager for food and a new place to lay eggs.

"Oh my spirits..." Katara moaned and turned away from Aang. And promptly vomited, her gore rising uncontrollably.

"Katara!" Aang gasped and reached to hold her hair back. He placed his hand on the back of her neck to steady and soothe her. She was shaking and slick with sweat. "You ok sweetie?"

"Yeah... Yeah..." She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. "It's just ... The whole scene and everything." It was mostly the truth. The corpse and occurrences of the previous night were gruesome and nauseating on their own. She hoped he'd buy the excuse. She took a deep breath and gulped a sphere of water her husband had bent to her.

Wait. He was still here... He was supposed to be chasing down those monsters.

"Aang! You let them get away!" she raged suddenly at him. "You should be leagues from here on your glider following them! What happened to the plan?! What about to the greater good and sacrifice?"

All he could do was grab her and hold her tight as she cried her sorrow and anger out. She didn't fight him, just started sobbing again into his chest.

"I was wrong. ALL life is precious. And no life is as precious to me as you are. I had to stay here until you were better. Until you could hear me apologize." He stroked her head, gingerly touching the delicate silver strands hidden among the chocolate. She looked up at him with mixed emotions filtering through her gaze. Sadness. Anger. Relief. Gratitude. Love. They would get through anything together. "This calf didn't die in vain. We know what they are and how they work. And we know where they're going. Republic City."

"I guess we're going home," she smiled weakly at him.

* * *

They never made it to the Eastern Air Temple. It took a day to catch up to Shenxian and the rest of the herd. Aang and Katara rode Appa in a sullen silence. Momo stayed ducked down in their replenished supply of fruits, but even he knew better than to tempt the anger of his human companions by engorging himself.

At one point Aang ventured to ask Katara if she knew bloodbending like that was possible, if she could feel it. If it was that horrifically powerful. All she could do was nod. She wouldn't talk about it.

Shenxian was disappointed, but not angry. She had seen so many of her herd taken, that she was numb to the news. The revelation of the waterbenders… and the blood bender… was more shocking. She wished them well in their pursuit of the criminals into Republic City. She had her work cut out for her at the Bhanti Temple ahead of her.

The pair turned their attention north and began the trek towards Republic City. Their 'Spirit Moon' was over. They healed a valley and found remaining bison. Maybe some day they would search out more. But for now it was back to city life and the responsibilities that came with it. Like an organized smuggling syndicate. And whatever secret Katara was keeping from Aang.


	14. A Night on the Town

**Aang and Katara get back home finally but have one last night out before returning to adulthood. How does our favorite couple act in public? I hope you have fun reading it! It turned out longer than I planned, but I was just having so much fun. Strong language and sexually suggestive.**

* * *

 _A Night on the Town_

Air Temple Island. It was what the couple would come to call home. Would eventually have beautiful gardens of flowers and vegetables. Tree filled glades and rock formations. Spiraling meditation labyrinths and intense practice dojos. Dormitories and stables. The delightful sounds of training acolytes and children.

But right now it was none of that. It was barren and lifeless and empty. As the couple did a pass around their island before landing Aang noted sadly how void it was of humanity.

While they had been gone, crews were busy planting and began landscaping the rock in Yue Bay that served as the respected Avatar and his wife's home, but it was still lacking. The only structures were the small bungalow house that they would live in, a stable for the lone sky bison, a hut of a bath house, a small floating dock on the water for anyone NOT traveling by air, and the temple.

Temple... It was little more than a shrine with some statues, plants, and gazebos... But it was a start.

The area around these structures had been cleared for the initial construction and had minimal growth. This was no Gufeng Valley masterpiece of magical revitalization.

"Hey Katara!" Aang called back over his shoulder hopefully. "Thanks to all that terra-form bending and planting I did back in the Gufeng Valley, I should be able to get this place whipped up in no time!"

He cocked his head for her answer. He knew he had thrown his voice well enough to make it back to the saddle over the roar of the winds. That was like lesson three on sky bison riding- bend your voice so others can hear you.

He fully turned around to see just the crown of Katara's dark head poking above the edge of the back saddle of the great furry beast. A pair of long white ears were sticking up and a fuzzy lemur face popped up and chittered angrily at the airbender. He was curled up on the woman's chest.

And she was asleep.

Again.

It seemed that in the last several days following their latest misadventure, Katara was sleeping more, tiring more quickly. She had been ill several times, but ravenous when they stopped for meal breaks. But she still threw herself into her daily training. They had cut the hunt out to save time on their travels… And Katara just couldn't do it right now… He hoped it was just the stress of what he had made her do, at what they had witnessed. He was worried she was sick and slipping into depression. He wanted to support his wife like she did for him every day, but didn't know how.

"Looks like she fell asleep again, boy," Aang sighed as he patted the shaggy bison's head. The animal just snorted in response. Even he was sullen. Oh how the bison bellowed for hours after discovering the mutilated remains of the calf. "I know. I'm sorry. Just take us down."

The bison twisted his massive form in the air as if he was taking a relaxing swim, not suspended in mid air. Ten tons of animal, just floating on the breeze.

* * *

Curled in the saddle, Katara was having fretful nightmares. Some combination of hormones and horror and fear at the known and unknown. Her face was twisted in a grimace and her brow furrowed in her sleep when Aang hopped up a to wake her. He gently prodded his sleeping wife, stroking her face and shaking her shoulder.

"Katara? Katara sweetie?" he murmured softly, "Sweetie, we're home."

She stirred and groaned a bit, her bright blue eyes sliding open in the late afternoon sun. It was overcast so she didn't need to shield her vision as she gazed up at her husband. It was a warm and welcoming sight after the demons she had been fighting in her mind.

He was so sweet and caring. His face more ruggedly handsome than when they left all those months ago. Was it four? Five? Somewhere in there. She thought that sounded about right. He was darker and even leaner than before. His chinstrap beard longer with a pair of beads woven into forks. Faint scarring marked much of his body, but the public would probably never see that. She questioned if people would even recognize him.

Of course they would. He was the only man on the planet with that blue arrowed dome. Now... If he were wearing a hood or a hat...

A smile broke out across her face as she grabbed his hand and held it against her cheek. It was familiar and warm in an unfamiliar and cold world.

"Hi sweetie," she replied drowsily, her eyelids heavy. "Did we really make it all the way back?"

"Yeah, we did," he smiled. "We're home."

* * *

It didn't take them long to get unpacked. They hadn't carried much supplies with them on their nomadic trip, getting what they needed as they went. The hardest part was always getting Appa's saddle off and put away, the beast rubbed down, and fed. Gotta take care of the last 4-banded sky bison!

"Looks like our nomad days are over," Aang sighed sadly as he locked the saddle in place in the stable. He clamped down the ties on the racks to keep the equipment locked and stowed.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sure we'll travel plenty again... later... We have our hands full here," Katara was brushing Appa's shaggy fur with a dour look on her face, but then brightened up. "Hey! We'll probably be heading to Bhanti Island in the next year or so to meet Appa's babies!"

"You know it takes more than just one night," Aang whispered into Katara's ear as he curled in behind his wife to wrap his hands around her waist and held her tight. "We've been at it for years..."

"Heh heh heh," her chuckle was awkwardly dry. She took his hands and settled them on her hip bones. A much safer place for them to rest. She returned to brushing Appa's fur. "You're right at that, but it's not like we were actively trying at the time... But if nothing else, we'll be headed west if we find word that the breeding didn't take."

"How wonderful would that be if it did though! ... Little Appas for future benders." Aang nuzzled into Katara's hair and sighed. She smelled of sky and water, his favorite combination of an aphrodisiac. Well, and bison after their trek and time in the caves, but that was to be expected.

He suddenly realized how much he wanted her in that moment after the stress of the last week. He craved her and knew just how to touch her to make her want him in return. He pushed her braid over the side of her shoulder and nibbled against bare neck. She didn't wear it down often anymore with travel and work and training. He missed those days when she left it fluffy.

She sighed and reflexively pushed her backside into him. She could feel how much he wanted her. Knowing how much he desired her in that moment always got to her and made her need him in return.

"Aaaaang," she groaned, "I still have a bison brush in my hand..." He bit into her flesh harder, just this side of pain. She moaned and her eyes fluttered closed.

"And we have unpacking and laundry to do..." He hiked the skirt of her dress up and dug his fingers into the soft flesh of her inner thigh.

"And... We smell like a bison barn..." He slipped his other hand under the edge of the top of her dress and squeezed her breast tightly.

"OW! What did I tell you about that?" She pulled away from him, massaging her offended flesh and scowled sternly at him. She softened her look at his confused and hurt expression. He had no way of knowing what was really going on.

"Katara... The island is completely deserted..." He looked so pitiful that she put the brush down on the stable bench. She couldn't help it. She wanted him so badly too. She could nearly taste his mouth already.

"Fine. But we're at least hitting the hot spring bath house first," she begrudgingly conceded. The ecstatic look of joy that crossed his face, replacing the morose, dejected visage was priceless.

"Yes!" he shouted and jumped unto the air, twisting with a flourish of air bending whimsy. He stopped and looked embarrassed for a moment before bowing his head respectfully, hands reverently clasped in front of him. "I mean, thank you sifu…"

He glanced up with a tell tale smirk and Katara just shook her head and laughed.

* * *

The bathhouse wasn't much more than a rock lined spring pool with an open walled hut for shade. But it sufficed. There were some pointless changing screens and shelves with soaps and towels nearby so they didn't have to bring everything out each time they wanted to bathe.

At some point maybe they would add some walls or curtains for privacy, but for now, it was just the two of them on the whole island.

The raucous sound of child-like play echoed through the bathhouse on this far side of the island where the hot springs ran and piped up through the rocks. Splashing and laughing, squealing and crashing could be heard half way across the rolling landscape. Over time, the banter died down and was replaced with the rhythmic cadence of passion...

Katara relaxed back against her husband's bare chest, relishing in the sweet afterglow of hard fought love making as the steaming waters lapped around them. She was on the verge of dozing off again, the heat nearly too extreme for comfort. His breath and heartbeat was comforting and safe in all of the insanity.

Aang gently combed his fingers though his wife's hair as it floated in the waters like a shimmering dark oil slick. The golden brown mounds of her buoyant breasts were thinly veiled by the sheet of chocolate hair, nipples just peaking through the screen. His head was laid back, eyes closed with his face to the warm sky. He never thought that he'd ever be happy to settle in one place, but if he had his pick (which he did, being the Avatar and all) then he would pick right here, with this incredible woman. She was so soft in his arms, just for him as he was just for her.

If they could live in this moment forever, they could be perfectly content.

But the world stops for no one.

"I need to send message to the water bending academy that I'm back," Katara sighed nonchalantly. Her students were great. Attentive and hard working. They WANTED to learn.

"Yeah, " Aang replied. His mind was ticking away at needs over wants as well. Although, his mind was significantly more void of coherent thought in the reprieve than his wife's. "I'm going to go in to the offices tomorrow morning. Check in with Toph and file reports with her about the poaching... Then get caught up on other work... Spirits know what's happened while we've been gone."

Katara sat up and spun in his lap. His chest was noticeably colder suddenly and he pouted. "Oh I'm coming in for that. I'm part of that mess too! Don't you leave me out of that!"

"Sure thing sweetie, whatever you want," He didn't even open his eyes or pick his head up from the pillow of rocks he had created against the edge of the pool, perfectly conforming to his body. "You can give special insight to the nature of bloodbending."

She shifted uncomfortably before whispering, "It needs outlawed. No one should be allowed to use that horrible power without consequences."

Aang lifted his head and opened one stormy eye. Water was dripping down the brow of his other eye. "You think it's really that bad?"

"If that monster could use it, who knows. It's terrible," Katara mumbled. "I feel the power every month. I know. I know what it's capable of in the wrong hands."

Even in the warm waters Aang could feel her shiver and shake. He sat up and looked at his wife hard. Her smooth copper shoulders were trembling. Her energy was dark and heavy. She never talked about her bloodbending. Now he knew why. The fears he had as a child entering the Avatar State and accidentally hurting someone? She must have them every month. And even worse, now knowing for certain how horrific the outcome could be.

He rubbed his hands up and down her shoulders before wrapping her in a tight hug to his chest. He could feel her calm and relax in his arms as she laid her head against his shoulder. They needed to do something, just get out of this state tonight before diving back into the mess tomorrow morning.

"Let's go out tonight," Aang said quietly, tentatively. "Get our minds off this and just have a silly diversion. I promised you mead when we got back, and damn it, you deserve it."

"You know what, that sounds great." She lifted her head to kiss his cheek lightly. He smiled and melted at her gesture as if they were children again. In a sense, they still were. Still the same silly, goofy, loving souls they always had been. "We missed your birthday while I was gone, so this can make up for it!"

"Katara... You know I don't celebrate birthdays..." Aang sighed. It was an old fight, determining exactly when his birthday was. Air nomads based their year wheel on the change of seasons, not specific dates. His was late spring… sometime.

"That's just because you don't want to admit that you're 125 years old!" Katara laughed. "Looking good Gramps!"

Aang rolled his eyes and just squeezed her tight. He bit into her shoulder again, making her squeal and splash at him.

* * *

They took one of the motorized boats to the mainland to give Appa a rest. Plus, he didn't really like going into the city. No where for a ten tons magical bison to go and nothing for him to do. They didn't actually use the engine of the oil-fueled machine to propel themselves across the bay, but their bending instead. The smell of the burning fuel in the motor always sickened both of them. Now it reminded them of the refinery in the Gufeng Valley too.

It was Sokka who insisted they have one of the modern marvels for non benders. He was right, but it didn't mean they had to use it. Technology was putting non-benders on more level playing fields with benders. Bending had always been a part of each nation's culture. In this new society, where new cultures and traditions were being forged, clashes between the two groups were beginning to rear ugly heads. Aang loved the current peace between the nation's, but feared the unknown future of the lost heritages in the advancements.

Humans would always find a way to infight and marginalize others. Find ways to band together with like versus unlike. Instead of a war between the nation's, would the next great war be between benders and non-benders? Would technology outpace the skills of bending? The Earthen Fire Refinery showed that possibility years ago.

They docked at the mainland and tied their little boat up. They gave a few silver coins to the dock hand for security and began weaving their way down the bay front. The gas fueled street lamps cast sparkling reflections off the gently rolling waves as the pink sunset turned purple and grew dark. The noise of the city with people and carts and machines was a stark contrast from their quiet island and globe trotting honeymoon. It was overcast but warm in the mid summer as the pair strolled arm and arm, blending into the hustle and bustle of other pedestrians enjoying their evening.

Aang wore a lightly hooded cloak in simple blacks and reds to cover his arrows. Even his blue belt was left at home with Katara's yellow one. He looked like any random Fire Nation gentleman about the town. Katara was wearing a lovely pale green dress from the Earth Kingdom. It was split high up the sides, nearly to her hips with complimentary brown leggings for practicality. It had flowers and peacock-lizard feathers embroidered around the waist and a plunging neckline. Katara couldn't tell, but from Aang's tall view, it was quite the enticing site.

They found their way to a busy tavern on the waterfront. Tables and chairs butted up against the water precariously. Aang knew from experience that at least once a week someone would fall in and water bending bouncers- the only bending permitted at the establishment- would fish them out and kick them out for the season. Fried foods and alcohol flowed freely. A live band was playing on a small stage. Men and women were dancing and laughing and cajoling. It was a welcome change from the rigid and stoic behavior of the war time Fire Nation.

Aang got two glasses of sweet honey wine from the bar and ordered a small ensemble of fried foods with his wife at his hip. So far no one had recognized them- probably because Aang's appearance had changed so much in the last few months from their travels- his skin darker, beard longer, face more gaunt with mature features. He looked like he had aged five years instead of five months. And they didn't recognize anyone else.

It was an odd, secluded life the Avatar and his Water Tribe princess wife lived. Although the world had known each of them since childhood, the only true friends they had their own age were the rag tag team they had set out with all those years ago. And with the exception of Toph, they were all spread across the globe. The business of being the Avatar at only 12 years old (well, 13 by the end of the war) meant that he spent most of his time with people much older than himself. Katara as well, only with the opposite age spectrum too. After her work as a dignitary with Aang, she took to teaching waterbending to the youth who had moved to Republic City with their families in search of a better life.

They didn't know anyone their own age. They were their own generation out of sync. And here they were no one, another pair of faces in the crowd.

Honestly, they were just fine with that.

They found a bench and table near the water and Aang straddled it, letting Katara sit in front of him and rest her back against his chest like she had in the bath house. Her hair was fluffy and loose for a night on the town and she smelled of lilacs and salt water. She had applied just the lightest line of kohl to her eyelids and a shimmery mocha gloss to her lips. She was exotically beautiful in a subdued and demure way. No other woman could compare to her as far as Aang was concerned. She fit so sweetly and perfectly against his chest. He rubbed his chin against the top of her head, enjoying the feel of her silky tresses against his neck.

They sat there quietly, just enjoying the scene around them, wrapped in their own little world. They watched as others danced and talked and drank, a flurry of entertaining activity. Boats would pull up and dock and several young adults in a variety of colorful garments would get out to join the fray. Gull-hawks would careen about, squawking and yelling at the patrons in hopes for handouts.

Katara was silently starving. She kept her composure, but was grateful that Aang had suggested they go out. Grease and fat and MEAT was on her mind and she knew if they had stayed home none of those things would have made it into her stomach. She wanted to tell him so badly, but was scared. It was early. Things could go wrong still. She wanted to protect him from that, like she had all those years ago at the Southern Air Temple. And she was worried for one extra reason…

When the server brought the dishes her eyes lit up.

"I haven't had fried chicken-rabbit it in years!" Katara gleefully exclaimed between voracious bites. Even though she had been living mostly vegetarian for years with Aang, she would indulge from time to time. He didn't mind. It was her upbringing, not his. How they would raise their children was still questionable with the blending of their cultures. "How's your tofu?"

"Eh. I've had better, but it's good," Aang replied pushing the pieces away from Katara's meat, "but these tomato- carrots are great!" He took another sip of his mead. It was overly sweet and oddly thin for a honey drink, but tradition was tradition. Katara swirled the amber liquid in her glass, enjoying the way it sparkled is the candle light. She was warm and content, worries pushed aside for another time.

The band struck up a few chords and began an upbeat tempo. Katara caught herself tapping her fingers on her glass in rhythm to the music. The drink began shifting and dancing in response.

"Go dance sweetie, I can tell you want to," Aang suggested, giving her a little nudge.

"What about you?" she smirked at him. She had never danced until she danced with him. Now she loved it- just losing herself in the music and the moment. Feeling the rhythm inside her soul. Giving herself over to the sway of her hips and beat of her heart. With the water lapping at the edges of the docks and flowing beneath the platform she could feel everything as it vibrated through the saturated pylons. It called to her.

"Nah. Not this time. I'm sitting this one out. Gonna get another couple of drinks," he patted her hip as she stood and swung her leg over the bench. "Want anything?"

"Just some water, please," she smiled before kissing his forehead and heading into the crowd to find an unoccupied space.

Aang watched for a moment as the other men around noticed Katara as she walked by. Greedy, lust-filled eyes followed her as she sauntered, her hips kicking back and forth provocatively. Aang knew she was doing it for him; she knew he'd be watching her shapely rear as she left, but he was wary of the other men privy to the view. He kept her in his peripheral vision as he made his way back to the bar. Toph hated coming here because she said she was totally blind here on the wooden dock. Aang suddenly knew what she meant when he realized he couldn't feel Katara through the crowd.

"Wha'tchu having there, sir?" the bartender piped up, his eyes locking on Aang's as he shuffled several bottles between his hands, pouring various drinks for the jostling patrons. Aang shook his head and tugged at his cowl, glad to not be recognized.

"Um... Potato-root spirit with a splash of dry-berry juice..." Aang glanced back over his shoulder towards Katara protectively. She had found some other women who were happily dancing by themselves, giving their bodies and souls over to the rhythms of the night. A cold glass bumped his arm, startling him. "Oh. And a glass of water," he continued, distracted. The bartender nodded and followed Aang's line of site to Katara on the dance floor.

"Pretty woman you got there, mister," he chuckled, making small talk as he poured. "Lucky guy. Half the guys here probably hate you, and the other half are too stupid to realize she's yours."

"You don't even know the half of it," Aang joked back, dropping some coins on the bar. "She's not mine... I'm hers."

"If you're looking for brownie points, use that line on her, not me!" He laughed as Aang turned away and headed back to his bench, drinks in hand.

* * *

When he was younger, Aang loved showing off and being the center of attention, even when he claimed otherwise. He would have jumped right into the crowd and tried to wow them with his skills. Of course, back then he was showing off mostly for a certain water bender. He didn't have anyone to impress any more. At least in public.

Now a-days he preferred to watch her. She had no idea how beautiful and graceful she was out there or how everyone was watching her. But she'd always turn back and bat her eyes and smile back at just him. He'd let her dance on her own for a while, just enjoying the view. Enjoying how much she was enjoying herself. Eventually he would join her for a spin or two, ignoring everything else but the music and the tempo and shape of each other's bodies. At that point, crowds would gather and applaud their performance, the nimble martial artists they were.

She was at it again, all grace and movement, flowing between forms as smoothly as the rippling water of the bay just under the docks. She'd twist and turn, the undulating waves of muscle and sinew shimmering down her body. She was laughing as her hair whipped around her face and the other girls bumped against her clumsily trying to keep up. He could hear her light and airy titter over the din of the crowd and music. She wasn't laughing at them, but with them, taking their hands and spinning each other gaily. Just enjoying themselves, beholden to no one else.

"That's one smoking piece of ass, huh hotman?" a gruff voice boasted to Aang, shaking him from his thoughts. A man heavily plopped onto the bench next to Aang, bouncing him with his weight.

"What was that?" Aang replied, trying to track what the man had said. All he had heard was 'hotman'... Aang had to laugh a bit. He himself had made that archaic term popular again.

"That Water Tribe chick I see you watching," he motioned in Katara's direction. He had a drink in the hand that he pointed with. It sloshed and threatened to splash out onto Aang's robes. He twisted his hand discreetly and stopped the liquid's motion. The guy was too drunk to notice. "She's wearing an Earth Kingdom dress, but you can tell she's Water Tribe. How she moves ya know..."

It clicked in Aang's brain as to what the man was hinting at. He squinted his disapproval at the comment and took a good look at the man. He was shorter than Aang but broader, with thick biceps and shoulders twice the size of Aang's. He was in a red and orange tunic that barely fit across his barreled chest. He was bristling with the kind of muscles that were for show, not strength. 'Leg day' was definitely not in this dude's vocabulary. His long black hair was swept up in a neat topnot. Everything about this guy screamed misogynistic asshat to Aang. He cocked his brow at the shorter man.

Now he was curious as to how far this idiot could shove his foot in his own mouth.

"Ya think she's water tribe?" Aang slid his voice to match the other man's slang and took a sip of his own drink. Tart and strong... just how he liked his woman. Aang stroked his beard beads to see if the guy reacted to the obvious Water Tribe tell. Dude didn't even notice, he was so glued to Katara. He was clueless.

"Oh yeah, curves and moves like that? Only a Water Tribe chick can do that..." the man continued, leering hard at Katara and licking his lips like she was a tasty treat just for him. "And that necklace... I've heard that means she's someone else's property... makes getting her all the sweeter." It was all Aang could do to keep from laughing in the man's face. Or vomiting. He wasn't sure which.

"Really? You ever been with a Water Tribe girl?" Aang was just being mean now, leading him on like this.

"Oh have I ever!" The man was determined to be Aang's new best friend now, wrapping his beefy arm around Aang's neck. "They are the kinkiest, nastiest chicks you'd ever sack. All that pent up sexual frustration from living at the poles, with no one to fuck but their brothers and their fathers and some tiger seals? They're just raring to go!"

"Wow buddy... Just... Wow..." Aang was shaking his head in disgust and disbelief. The drunk guy completely misread Aang's inflection and continued on...

"Fuck yeah, hotman! The name's Tao-shin," he grabbed Aang's hand and shook it roughly, squeezing in that way guys do when they're trying to show how tough and strong they are. Aang pretended to wince in pain. "Now... That chick's waaaay out of your league...Skinny, goofy guy like you..."

"Tell me about it..." Aang had to laugh honestly at that. He always felt that was true anyways...

"But if you stick with me, I bet you could end up with one of the other hotties she's bouncing around with... Man, would you check out that rack! That's something ain't it! Gonna have my face between those tits by morning, you just watch..."

Aang just groaned... No wonder they didn't hang around with people their own age often.

* * *

Just then, Katara gave an extra twirl in her step and flourish in her hip shake, ending with a wink in Aang's direction. Who was that Fire Nation guy cozying up with her husband? Was he actually making friends with someone? She'd have to invite him out onto the dance floor!

* * *

"See! What did I tell ya! You're a lucky man here!" Shin just couldn't stop himself.

"Really? Why's that?" Aang couldn't stop himself either, this man was going to go down in flames...

"If it wasn't for me, she'd never even glance this way!" He actually waved to Katara and motioned for her to join them. She pointed questioningly at herself, looking slightly confused. "Watch and learn...Don't tell anyone, but I'm a master firebender... The Water Tribe girls go crazy for a little fire action. They're so used to the cold…"

"Really? I wouldn't know... I'm not a bender..." Aang lied through gritted teeth. Wow… just wow… how could someone think so little of another human, like they were just a consumable good to be used up and thrown away? "I thought this club was a strictly no-bending area... You know... For safety reasons..."

"Ah, there's no harm in a little heat" Shin held his hand up to Aang's face and palmed a tiny spark of flame. It was pitifully weak. All of his power came from his muscles, not from his breath and gut like a true master. "What are those stupid water bending bouncers going to do when faced with true fire?"

 _Oh I don't know, put it out?_ thought Aang sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. _They're waterbenders… on a dock…_ It was tough for Aang to keep up the charade of awe...

"Woooah, that's really cool..." he gagged out. He was torn between motioning for Katara to beat it... Or bask in the inevitable onslaught and humiliation this guy would face.

Bask. He was going to bask.

* * *

Katara sauntered across the dance floor towards her husband and his new friend. Why would the other guy be calling her over and not Aang? It was really strange. He was shorter than Aang and overly muscled. To the point that it was comical to Katara. But she wasn't going to judge. To each their own.

"Hey Aa-" Katara started to say, but was cut off by the other man abruptly grabbing her wrist.

"Hey, sugar," he began. Aang let loose a low growl at the touch and Katara's eyes popped wide with shock and then narrowed with displeasure. "My buddy and I were just watching you ladies over there... You're all really something... But… my buddy here..." Aang realized Shin never asked for Aang's name, and he never offered. "See, he's real shy... And he thinks your friend in the purple skirt there is real cute..."

"Oh he does, does he?" Katara smirked as Aang's cheeks turned red- she knew his ears would match under that hood. The hell was going on here? The man let go of Katara's wrist and settled his hand on her hip. She could feel it heating up through her dress.

He was a fucking cocky ass firebender. Oh hell no.

"And I was wondering if you'd introduce them for me. It'd be awesome sweet of you, honey..." He was laying it on thick. How Katara wasn't laughing in the man's face, Aang had no idea.

"Aw that would be sweet..." Katara held her hand over the man's on her hip preparing herself for escape maneuvers. She pulled some water from her glass on the table behind them with her free hand and spun it, readying for an attack. "I thought he was looking at me this whole time..."

"Aw, aren't you cute, giving my underdog here some attention," he patted her hip again and massaged his thumb into the flesh of her waist. Katara curled her lip in a snarl that the guy evidently didn't catch. "You and I know I'm much more your type, little waterbender. You'd much rather come home with a strong firebender than... Lee here. He's not even a bender. You know what they say... Opposites attract..."

"Yeah... I don't think so..." Katara continued. She'd had enough of this dude. The hell was Aang thinking, chatting with this guy? "And I'd kindly ask you to remove your hand..."

"Aw, don't be like that, sugar..." He heated his hand back up. Katara could see the sloppy, drunken hunger in his eyes. It was disgusting.

"Second warning..." she hissed.

"You know you want it..."

"I think the lady doesn't… She asked you nicely," Aang offered... This was going to be hilarious...

"They always do, you'll see..." He reached his hand up towards her face, lips puckered like he was going to force a kiss.

Katara spun from his grasp fast as an airbender and threw his hand away. The hand-to-hand combat training definitely was paying off. Before he could react she was poised and ready, fists full of charged water.

"Feisty waterbender, what did I tell you, bud..I can spot 'em a mile away!" Shin laughed and brought large, flamboyant flames to his fists. "Two can play at that game. When I win, you come with me."

The crowd audibly gasped at the sudden fire bending and backed away from the fight that was about to erupt. Everyone loves a good show... and most everyone knew Shin as a bully who would get his way. The water bending bouncers began making their way over through the crowd, fists full of liquid as well.

Aang was about to intervene when Katara snapped aggressively towards the unwitting man.

"Oh... Sugar... You're not even a contender."

She bunched her fists and threw them upward. The water from below the dock came rushing through the gaps in the wood like a great wave. She had such control over the water that it damaged nothing. Not a single splinter was knocked out of place as the water crashed from beneath. Katara blew an icy breath over the man, locking his arms and legs in place. She knew he wasn't a good enough bender to break out of that. Some hot hands or tiny palm of flame wouldn't be strong enough. There was no way he was advanced enough for fire breath.

The men in the crowd took a few steps protectively back, recognizing that the angry water bending woman far outmatched any of them. The women, many of whom who had been harassed or assaulted by Shin on more than one occasion over the years, erupted in raucous cheers and applause.

"Who...Who are you?" he stuttered through chattering teeth. He couldn't move. His untrained firebending wasn't strong enough to break her ice.

"Oh... You don't get my name. You don't deserve any woman's name." Katara glared at Aang for letting this guy get as far as he did. He was hiding a huge shit eating grin behind the hand covering his face.

But then she realized something. He let her fight her own battle. Let her go and defend herself. Asshat wouldn't learn anything if Aang had defended her, if the only way this guy would MAYBE respect a woman was if she was another man's property. He'd never get the message that way.

She turned on her heels to return to the dance floor just as the bouncers made their way to Shin and Aang. They surrounded him and dismissed the ice with their bending before grabbing Shin roughly by the shoulders.

"Hey! Toss that bitch out! She attacked me! No bending!" Shin started hollering and thrashing, really making an embarrassing scene. "Buddy! Help me out here."

Aang turned to Shin. He was done.

"Wait! Wait up guys," Aang placed a hand on one of the shorter bouncer's shoulders. His eyes locked with Aang's and then went wide with recognition. His vision slid up Aang's forehead to just under the hood where the tip of a blue tattoo was poking out. The bouncer nodded with a smirk. "Hey! Waterbender lady! Can you come over here please?"

Katara swung around back and scowled at him, her hand on her hip. But she came back over.

"Shin, buddy. Sorry it had to end this way..." Shin looked back and forth between Aang and Katara clearly confused. "You may not deserve this woman's name… or maybe any woman's name. But you can have mine… you never even bothered to ask… My name's Aang," he reached up and pulled the hood off his head, exposing his bald, arrowed head. Everyone froze. They all knew exactly who he was. "And I'm her husband."

She grabbed Aang by the collar and planted a huge passionate kiss on his mouth. She tasted like icy success. "You're still an ass," she whispered into his ear.

Shin's mouth dropped and his ego deflated in an instant. Aang had never seen someone go from so drunk... to so sober... so quickly. Shin's face drained of all color. The bouncers hauled him the rest of the way out and tossed him into the street.

"Well, that was fun… what say you to a dance?" Aang requested with his hand on her waist. Katara took the hand and spun, pulling him out onto the dance floor happily.

* * *

 **Before anyone yells at me about hot tubs or alcohol during pregnancy: consider the assumed era in human history. For the majority of our civilized existence, the only known, safe drink was a fermented fruit or grain. Women would drink through pregnancy because they didn't know any better... And it was safer than parasite or bacteria infested waters ... And I'm pretty sure our race survived... Along with visiting hot springs. If you were fortunate enough to live near one, a woman wouldn't stop going just because she was pregnant. Don't take this as me condoning the acts now that we know better, just my rational for why it's here.**

 **Also... I was cracking myself up writing the scene with Tao-shin. I've experienced these guys sooooo many times. Felt good to lay them out in print.**

 **Please review! I had a ton of fun with this one!**


	15. Hail to the Chief

**Back in Republic City…**

* * *

 _Hail to the Chief_

*Shuffle shuffle shuffle*

The gruff looking woman tilted her head in the direction of the soft sounds on the stone floor. It was a furtive and timid noise. It rubbed and vibrated instead of steadily tapping against the ground like normal, dignified footsteps. The vibrations echoed loudly to her though, tickling through the flooring and under her bare, calloused feet. It grated on her nerves when people did that. Pick up your damn feet.

"Banesha," the woman's gravelly voice broke out, "You know I can still hear you when you shuffle your feet like that... And it just gives it away that you're bringing me news that you know I won't like."

"I know, Chief Beifong," she replied. Her voice was light and crystalline and chimed sweetly like a bell. It was a pleasant voice to listen to. Which was a good thing because Chief Beifong listened to it a lot. "I can't help it... It... It's happened again ..."

Oh man...Perfect... Just in time for Aang to get back... She couldn't hide this from him forever.

Chief Beifong had scanned the daily police reports this morning. A scuffle between a female water bender and male fire bender at Cactus Runners down on the docks was nothing unusual. The report that the female's companion was noted to be bald and sporting a blue arrow tattoo stuck out. Plenty of idiots had taken to shaving and tattooing themselves (which infuriated Aang to no end, but Chief Beifong didn't give two shits. Things like tattoos and color and general appearance didn't phase her). But water bender, plus an Avatar look-alike made Toph search out the names.

Yep. Aang and Katara were back. At least she could look forward to whatever *that* story was. She was disappointed that she missed it. Roughing up assholes was half the reason she went into law enforcement!

"Crimeny... Gimme the reports," Toph grumbled, extending her hand. Her secretary slid the cool wooden clipboard into her grip and she ran her fingertips over the odd stripes and slashes on the paper and concentrated. She was 'reading' the report with her earth bending.

It was several years ago that Toph had finally learned how to read. She discovered if something was written with a hard tipped graphite pencil, she could feel the shapes made by the rock left on the paper. It was incredibly useful. If she hadn't learned how to read, it would probably have been impossible for her to become a police officer, let alone the chief! Too much paperwork needed!

There it was... written in the particles of stone. Another bison pelt had turned up. A young one. Technically, there were no laws stating that bison hunting was illegal... Everyone thought they were extinct. Flying may not have been Toph's preferred way of travel, but the species population was so decimated. It was wrong, they shouldn't be hunted. Aang was going to pitch a fit. There was no way around it.

When furs and meat and other pieces began showing up in the black markets about six months ago it had come to the attention of the law enforcement as possible counterfeit- people had tried that before. The first time Toph laid her fingers on the artifacts and felt them with her own fingers- and could smell them with her own nose- she knew. This was the real deal... Only a handful of people on the planet had such intimate experience with sky bison …and she was one of them. The others were elbow deep in city building and wedding preparations.

Toph didn't have the heart to tell Aang and Katara that not only were there sky bison out there, but that someone was poaching them too. And just weeks before their wedding. They had postponed the celebration so many times already. And she knew Aang would put it on hold AGAIN to chase this lead. Her friends deserved their peace finally.

She put the clip board and paper down and ran her hands over her face, up and under her long messy bangs. She rubbed her fingertips into her temples before combing through the veil of hair.

"Man, Twinkle Toes isn't going to be happy," she groaned aloud.

"Coffee, Chief?" Banesha suggested sweetly.

"Oh Spirits yes. If only I could add some cactus juice to it..."

* * *

It was several hours later when the Avatar and his wife entered the office building. It was a tall and sprawling structure made of stone and glass- one of the biggest buildings in the whole city. It housed most of the government needs for the new found Republic City. Law enforcement, council members, clerks and other offices that make a city run. The Avatar himself had his own office on the second floor.

He didn't really have a specific position... He just... was the Avatar. He was called in on any number of events and meetings and decisions. Before leaving for his honeymoon, he was an adviser and corespondent for every single project in the city. It was why he had taken such a long vacation. He wanted to prove to the council that they could run things without him. And wanted the world to see that Republic City was a stable and valid city-nation. A shining example of collaboration and unity to the rest of the world.

So far, it didn't have any more problems than any standard metropolis.

Which Toph knew wouldn't be good enough for Mr. Perfect.

* * *

She felt him long before she heard him. His usual light and nearly soundless footsteps were sending angry shockwaves through the building. Even Sugar Queen felt less... Sugary.

She heard loud cheers of welcome congratulations erupt in the bullpen when the Avatar and his wife entered the room. Toph shook her head and chuckled to herself. Toph may have been a prideful showman back in the day, but boy, could THAT man make an entrance. She pushed away from her desk, the wooden chair scraping on the stone floor, and opened her office door.

"Twinkle Toes! Sugar Queen! The hell you doing back? I thought you said you'd be gone at least six months!" She yelled over the din of the officers, her rough voice booming. "Wait! I know!" she knocked the butt of her palm dramatically against her forehead. "You dunderheads finally realized a legal marriage is a joke and want a divorce, right? That's two floors up still." She pointed down the hall, waving them off.

"Oh Toph," Aang laughed and hugged his old friend, picking her right up off the floor, squeezing her tightly. Several joints in her back popped and cracked loudly. Damn he got tall and strong over the years. "Just because YOU say you'll never get married doesn't mean no one else is allowed."

"Yeah yeah yeah...What do you want? I'm sure you have stacks of paperwork piled up in your fancy 'Avatar Office.'" She cocked her head in Katara's direction. Why was she so quiet? Usually she was the FIRST to give hugs. She felt for her familiar vibrations before aiming a punch to the shoulder. Dead on like always. "And you! Don't you have snot-faced, jam-handed little monsters to teach your splash-bending to?"

"Students, Toph," she could hear the shuffle of skin on linen and knew Katara was rubbing her arm where the fist connected. "They're called students. And yes. We stopped there first or else-"

"Or else we would have been here way sooner!" Aang interrupted. She couldn't quite place the sound of his voice. It was wavering between excited and distraught. She felt like Ty Li searching for the right word in her fuzzy mind. "We need to talk. In private. We've made an alarming discovery."

Toph gritted her teeth, listening to the grinding of enamel on enamel. She had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Aang and Katara followed their old friend into her office. It was stark and painfully bright. Her desk and shelves and walls had no adornments. Her windows had no curtains on them. She said it saved on lighting bills. Previously people would get mad that it was too dark or that she had left a light on, wasting the gas.

One day she got fed up and just ripped the curtains out of the wall and yelled, "There! You want light? You get whatever comes in through there! I'M BLIND! I CAN'T TELL!"

No one bothered asking about it again.

She passed behind her desk, the metal armor shifting and clanking as she sat. She hastily shuffled the papers that were scattered about, sorting them into piles based on notches or folds in the corners.

"Spit it out Aang," Toph snapped. She was guarded and testy. Well... More so than usual. "Don't get me wrong, glad you're back buddy... But crime in a city never takes a vacation."

"Hey, my duty is to the whole world, not just Republic City, Toph," Aang pointed an angry finger at the short woman. He didn't care if she couldn't see it. "You knew that years ago."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," she waved her hands dismissively. "I'm just mad and frustrated. Up to my eyeballs in paperwork and scams. And I can't even see!"

"Heh heh heh," Katara chuckled. "Ms. Let's-break-some-rules and scam as many people as we can is our chief of police..."

Toph had to smirk at that. "Yeah, well those rules were stupid. Now *I* get to make the rules!"

"Sure-thing Mellon Lord..." Aang was laughing too now, initial tension broken. He realized he had missed his other best friend over the last few months. He was glad she worked just a few halls and flights of stairs away. He sat down heavily in the chair across from Toph's desk and shifted uncomfortably. "The thing is, is that we've tracked down a new kind of crime bleeding into the city... Poachers."

"Poachers?" Toph's voice cracked a bit and she tilted her head. Katara caught it, but Aang began to drone on anyways. "You're not letting YOUR vegetarian and high and mighty monk ideals creep into government policy are you? We don't need an Air Nomad theocracy…"

"No. No. Not like that. We've had poachers of different kinds… stolen flock from farmers or certain fish out of season, but this… this is a whole new level of wrong. When we were near the Eastern Air Temple, we discovered a herd of sky bison! It was amazing! A whole herd! Hell Appa may even have some calves on the way now." Aang's voice was raising in pitch at his excitement. Katara saw the look of panic cross Toph's usually emotionless face. She knew… something, but what. "But they've been getting slaughtered by a gang of waterbenders- led by a bloodbender- who are then selling the contraband here in Republic City! We have to track them down and stop them. Who knows what else they're up to?"

Toph slumped in her chair and sighed. She reached into a bottom drawer of the desk and pulled it open. The wood-on-wood drawer creaked and squealed as it slid. She felt through a few files until her fingertips found the coded notches in the folder she was searching for.

"I know..." she whispered as she dropped the case file on to the desktop. A few glossy black and white photos slipped out. It was the market... The underground market. "We've known for about six months..."

"WHAT?!" Aang bellowed, unintentionally throwing a gust of wind across the table. The papers and photos scattered. Toph didn't even flinch. She knew he was going to act like this. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?! I should have been your FIRST messenger hawk!"

"Can it Aang. I made a judgment call and I'm sticking to it!" She yelled back, just as mad. Who the hell was he to tell her how to do her job. "I was thinking of YOU the whole time. Think about it, dunderhead! Six months ago you were in the middle of getting the last paperwork completed on finalizing the legalities of Republic City from the Earth Kingdom lands. You were running yourself ragged. Oh that little thing called your WEDDING... Something we all knew took place years ago but you had to make it legal before you tried knocking Katara up. The whole keeping up appearances and shit."

Katara's heart stopped. Did she know? Could she sense it like the Fire Spirit? She held her breath and scanned Toph's face for clues... Whatever good that would do behind her veil of black bangs.

Aang opened his mouth to object again. But it just hung there. He snapped it shut with a pout. He wanted to be mad, but she was right. Six months ago... It felt like a lifetime had passed since the crazy happy days of their wedding. So much had happened.

"I hear your apology for that outburst loud and clear, Aang," she snipped at him and crossed her arms. Then unfolded them and leaned forward. "No. I'm sorry too. Not for withholding this from you... I stand by that... But for snapping now. I don't know what to do with the situation. It's technically not illegal, because technically they don't exist anymore. At least on paper or in any records. Team Avatar is the only group of people who could identify the... remains... And I wasn't going to do that yet- bother anyone else with it. I wasn't about to interrupt your well deserved honeymoon for police business."

"We saw them take one," Katara whispered. Toph tilted her head. Her friend's voice felt strained in an unusual way. "It was just a calf. He was a bloodbender... He ripped the hide right off the poor thing's body while it was still alive." Katara covered her mouth with her hands, gagging. Toph heard the tears plunk down loudly on the stone floor, tiny reverberating splashes. They fell next to the scattered papers. Katara stooped down and started gathering them, the leaves of paper rustling and crinkling.

"We didn't know about the bloodbender..." Toph sighed. She had never experienced the horrors of that night all those years ago. She had been down in that witch Hama's lair, unchaining her victims when it happened. When under the power of the full moon a blood bender reached into her friends' bodies and souls and controlled them like a malicious puppet master. All she knew was that it was evil and no one would talk about it. "I didn't know anyone else COULD bloodbend. But we knew they were water benders. At least some of them...The recovered remains have all been perfectly preserved in ice, even under noonday sun."

The pictures under Katara's fingers looked like a butcher shop mixed with a chop shop of oddities. What made it truly appalling was that Katara knew exactly how these creatures were tortured and died. She could feel that power in her own veins. The images showed flesh, bone, hide. Entire heads with dark tongues hanging out. Random organs or limbs. A disemboweled female, uterine horns showing the outlines of four underdeveloped calves.

She could feel her gore rising for so many reasons.

"We start by outlawing bloodbending," she heard Aang say over her shoulder. "We have to bring that to the council. I never imagined anyone would use this ability, but Katara, you're right, it needs outlawed." He looked down at his wife, she was frozen in shock over the files. He watched as she gingerly touched the one of the dead pregnant female. "Sweetie... I'm... I'm afraid that at the next full moon you'll have to show your abilities to the council so they understand..."

He let the grotesque suggestion linger in the air. It felt like she was watching the bison get slaughtered again. Felt like she was bloodbending Hama... And that Southern Raider Captain again.

"I need to get out of here."

She dropped the papers and spun to head out the door. Maybe she could outrun the memories.

* * *

"I need some air," Katara repeated as she pushed up from the floor, shoving her chair out of the way.

"I'll come with you. Country girl has been out nomading too long, You won't remember how the city works…" Toph spoke up and picked up her pace to to follow her friend out of the office. Aang returned to the papers, head in his hands.

Out on the street Katara was unsteady on her legs. Her stomach was starting to do flip flops and the noise and unfamiliar smells of Republic City assaulted her senses. So much had changed in just five months. What she would give for some grass and trees, but all she could see was streets of concrete and walls of steel and glass. Toph was right behind her and Katara had to chuckle as the blind woman tried leading her to a nearby bench. With all the stone and metal, the tough, short woman could probably 'see' better than anyone else around.

Along the sidewalk Katara misstepped and tripped on the unfamiliar terrain, unable to sense any water while Toph knew every nook and cranny of the landscape. She instinctively put her hand out to catch Katara as an unfamiliar vehicle sped past and she palmed her friend's lower abdomen in the process…

It was faint, but it was there. A fast paced second heartbeat, distinctively NOT her old friend's familiar rhythm. Toph pulled her hand back in surprise as if she had been burned, a look of shock flashed in her clouded mossy eyes. Katara had felt Toph touch her secret. Secrets were impossible to keep from the master earthbender. She was a living lie detector.

"Katara!" was all the chief of police could spit out. What do you say when you discover something like that? No wonder she had been so quiet and refused to touch her. Suddenly the bison poachers and Aang asking Katara to blood bend didn't seem so important any more. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to- um… congratulations?"

Katara stepped back from the precarious street way and leaned against the building and hung her head, her hair veiling her face.

"Heh heh heh… Yeah I guess… Of course you'd be the first to find out…" Katara rubbed the back of her neck with one hand, then stopped and laughed. She had picked up her husband's tell.

"You're kidding… not even?" Toph's mouth dropped. Katara never kept secrets from Aang. NEVER.

"No. Not even Aang." Katara sounded guilty, even maybe ashamed to the blind earthbender.

"But… why? I thought you guys wanted kids…" Toph was becoming more confused by the moment. This was perfect for Katara…someone else for her to mother! Toph smirked to herself.

"We do! And… well, we weren't NOT trying…" She looked away, unable to look her friend in the face, even though she knew it made no difference.

"Ug… I do NOT need details!" Toph stuck her tongue out as if she was vomiting and teased. "I've heard enough of you two fucking around to last a life time…"

"Oh can it," Katara shot back, and gave her friend a good natured shove. "You asked. Anyways. I had even stopped using my waterbending to prevent pregnancy. It was right after I got back from the Spirit World Void…" Toph squirmed at that, but didn't interrupt. She had been distraught with worry when Katara was lost, but had her own problems to deal with and knew she couldn't help. "But it's REALLY early. Only a few weeks. All sorts of things could go wrong. I'm scared. Really scared in so many ways. It's… complicated… Aang's just so… hopeful… that I think a miscarriage would break his heart almost as much as…"

"As what?" Toph tilted her head, and listened for a moment. Aang was still deep in the building.

"I… I don't think it's an airbender…" Katara admitted, and crossed her arms protectively across her abdomen.

"What? Really? How can you know?" Toph frowned. What did that matter? Was Aang really that desperate for an airbending child? Surely any child would be wonderful news.

"It's my healing energy. I can feel bending energies with it sometimes," Katara replied and reached over and touched Toph's bare forearm. Toph could feel a tingling sensation from Katara's hand as she touched the water in her flesh. It was cool and calm, full of the familiar healing energy that would mend every little scrape and bump that they acquired over the years. "Like you feel… heavy… with your earthbending. Zuko, was obviously hot. Other waterbenders, we're cool. Aang, he's light, although it gets jumbled up with the other energies because of the whole Avatar thing… but mostly light. Nonbenders… they don't feel like anything… Not that there's anything wrong with that! They just don't have that extra energy."

"And your baby's energy?" Toph prodded.

"It… it doesn't feel like anything." Katara finally responded sadly. Her eyes were starting to mist over and she was holding back tears. "I mean it feels wonderful, and full of life and love and I really am happy and excited about it… I'm just scared Aang won't be…"

"Oh goodness Sugar Queen…" Toph grabbed Katara's shoulders with both hands and roughly and shook them. She did her best to look Katara in the eyes for her benefit, but mostly just turned her face in the general direction, her long black bangs hanging nearly to her nose. "If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's how much Twinkle Toes loves you. It was saccharine from the start. Tell him. Tell him everything. He'll be overjoyed. He's a big dofus of a kid anyways… they'll be on the same level!"

Katara smiled, relieved that she had finally gotten it all out. Finally told SOMEONE other than Appa and Momo. She felt like a huge iceberg had just melted off her chest… and now she wanted to tell EVERYONE. But she had promised herself to keep it quiet until she had gotten past the third month. She had seen enough early miscarriages to know that there was still plenty that could go wrong, and it's easier to mention a miscarriage after the fact, than to deal with the sadness and pity from everyone if they knew beforehand. It was why she hadn't let herself get too attached to the baby yet either. Rationality was her strong suit in many situations.

She pulled Toph into tight hug, pressing the short woman into her chest. "Thank you, Toph."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Toph patted Katara on the back and laughed. "Now can you let go? Your giant preggo-tits are suffocating me! Aang really doesn't know? Crimeny he's denser than The Boulder! How could he miss these knockers!"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Katara winced and laughed. "Who knows... boys, right? Now… Aang's busy with the paperwork and flipping his lid... can we get some food? I SERIOUSLY need some meat… we're basically vegetarian out on the roads… but my body has been begging for some real fat and protein. I have no idea how Air Nomad women did it."

"Aw… now you just sound like Sokka! But yeah. That sounds great." Toph took Katara by the arm and led the way. "' _Iroh's Tea Shop_ ' is just down the road. And they have great roast duck."

"I thought Iroh was in Ba Sing Se?" Katara cocked her brow.

"Oh he is, this is a new restaurant he opened a few weeks ago. That's literally the name of the place: _Iroh's Tea Shop._ "

Toph had a skip in her gait. A step towards solving the poaching problem, a new secret with a pregnant Katara, AND roast duck? Surprisingly, this was turning into a great day.

* * *

 **What did you think? Toph knows now! Oh and I finally, definitively, said it out loud! Danced around it for... How many chapters?**

 **I wanted to do this from Toph's perspective for a while. Wanted to show the world through her... skin. Too often I see descriptions written from her perspective and either it's poorly described and flat, or written as if she could see- colors and expressions that she wouldn't comprehend. Or even when someone gives her sight. The heck is that?**

 **Please review!**


	16. Shadows of Hama The Council

**How to solve the problem of a rogue bloodbender. Who is he? Do you know? We find out how Katara convinces the council of Republic City to outlaw bloodbending. Ever wonder how that played out? Well I did, so I wrote it! Tapping into my messy horror side on this one… I'm not a fan of horror… but boy do I enjoy writing it sometimes!**

 **Inklings of why Republic City goes the way it does 50 years later with their Equalist Movement and the issues of segregation. Republic City is unlike anything else ever tried on their planet.**

* * *

 _Shadows of Hama ~ The Council of Republic City_

Aang had tried the poaching angle, but it fell on deaf ears. The concerns of the council didn't consist of international animal trade and conservation. They had bigger issues to worry about with the infantile city.

So he went with the bloodbending ban.

The debate over introducing the prospect of outlawing bloodbending was brutal. Never before had a specific technique of bending been outlawed. Sure, instances in which bending facilitated in assault or murder or other crimes had been on the books, just like if a crime was committed with a weapon or just bare hands. But to outright place a legally binding ban on one specific technique? It was a slippery slope. Where could such a thing lead? Who gets to choose what parts of someone's culture are inappropriate? Who decides the morality. Would benders have to register their abilities? Would it create tension between benders, non-benders, and different races?

The Republic City Council just didn't see the reason or need to go through the headache of litigation over a bending technique. They all had valid concerns about the issue. They feared someone would want to limit their own abilities.

They had three weeks

* * *

Three weeks. Three weeks to get the paperwork and ordinances together for the new law.

Aang found himself up to his neck in paperwork and red tape. Being a politician was never on the list of things we wanted to do when he was younger. He missed the days of free spirited travel and making necklaces out of fishing line. Before he discovered he was the avatar, all he hoped for was a wife to travel the world with and eventually settle down and have a garden, spending his days making fruit pies and teaching children- any children- air bending. And laugh. Always with laughter.

Life and responsibility got in the way of those plans. At least he had an awesome wife and hopefully would have children to teach, even if they weren't air benders. They could carry on the culture anyways, just like the Air Acolytes. Who knows, maybe some time in the future air bending would crop up again, like when benders are born to non-bending parents.

Now he spent days in frustration going from one office to another, pleading with lawyers and council members, clerks and judges. He even sent a few messenger hawks to Firelord Zuko requesting advice.

Zuko didn't have much wisdom to give on the matter... The Fire Nation was an old monarchy, not a new republic.

Reluctantly, the council agreed to consider the matter after a demonstration. It was ultimately decided that Katara would have to present the technique. The only other alleged bloodbender was old Hama. She was still locked away in an Earth Kingdom asylum. Her health was failing and her mind and abilities weak. Plus they weren't going to trust her to not do something horrible.

That left Katara.

Which set Katara off all over again.

In time, the law was all set to pass, it just needed the approval... And it couldn't get the approval without Katara's help.

* * *

Three weeks. It was three weeks before the next full moon. Three weeks before Katara would have to deal with that monthly horror. Three weeks before she was going to use the abilities on something.

On someone.

She'd tell him then- about the pregnancy. Get through this crisis before approaching the next one. After all of that. Toph disagreed with her, said Aang had the right to know. Katara called her a hypocrite.

~0~

The screaming match that ensued could be heard halfway through the Capitol building. Even Aang a floor and several halls away heard the rumble. He closed his office door and hid. He was already on his wife's shit list and was not about to walk into that fray. Whatever it was between Toph and Katara could stay between them. If it had to do with the upcoming bloodbending demonstration, it could stay on that floor. If it wasn't… Well, he wasn't going to press his luck. Those two could fight like any pair of sisters.

A colleague called Aang a coward at one point...

"Are you insane? Katara and Toph? Two of the strongest and high spirited benders on the planet... I'm the AVATAR and I'm not going to take that chance! Do YOU want to jump into that?!" He turned to bewildered to the man, a look of absolute shock and incredulity plain across his face. "Because by all means, be my guest... You're not sleeping with one of those two hellhound-cats!"

The man gulped and backed down. Oh hell no.

~0~

Katara and Aang fought for several days over this. He knew how it made her feel, knew it went against everything she believed in. What they both believed in. After making her kill that calf, now he wanted her to bloodbend something else and probably another human? Someone they knew on the council so they truly understood what was at stake.

She was so upset with him that they didn't speak for days, barely looked at each other for weeks. They were present, but their marriage was strained. They hadn't gone through such a rough patch in their relationship since the war… and they weren't even together at the time.

Now she knew how Aang had felt when everyone was so determined that the only answer to stopping Ozai was to kill him. It was eating at her that she had to do it. But in this case what choice did she have? There wasn't some magic lion turtle around to grant her some sort of insight or special unknown bending technique.

There were two weeks left. After a week she resigned herself to the fact that she was going to have to go through will it. In the meantime to distract herself, she threw herself into her teaching and self care and health. It was easy not to tell Aang that she was pregnant when she was so mad that she couldn't stay in the same room as him for long. They went through the daily motions of life side by side, but not truly together. Not in sync.

She learned quickly that if she slept in, she would sleep right through her morning sickness. She craved meat mid day, so since she was at work, Aang wouldn't know... And by late afternoon, just the thought of meat turned her stomach again... By early evening, she was exhausted and whatever wasn't done by sunset, wasn't getting done and she went to bed.

Aang just thought she was avoiding him because she was so angry over the bloodbending.

So he had no way of knowing anything beyond that was out of the ordinary.

* * *

Three weeks. Toph had three weeks to get the task force together. Her best and strongest metal bending officers and detectives were helping prepare.

Toph was tracking down leads on the poachers. She wanted to be able to pinch these fuckers the moment the law passed. Grab 'em and get them to flip on each other. In her experience, if they were doing one shady thing, they were doing plenty of other shady things.

There were a series of warehouses on the waterfront that looked good for the base of their operations. No one ever saw anyone enter or leave, but sounds could be heard and lights seen at odd hours of the night, according to the street kids who pedaled low level drugs around the area. Water benders would be able to find ways in secretly enough. Several of the buildings were attached to open boathouses.

Slip in under the water with out a trace. Just like they had all those years ago on the Day of Black Sun.

Toph really didn't want to have to confront the gang there. She was tough, but a whole team of waterbenders... Right on the water? That was suicide. She was regretting not having a more diversified police force. In her bravado, she created her own force primarily of earth and metal benders. In the new world made of brick and iron, she thought that was the only thing they'd need. The old ways were dead, weren't they? Why cling to relics of cultures people didn't care about or want anymore.

She told Aang that years ago. It didn't go well between them for a while, eventually civilly agreeing to disagree. But time heals. Aang got his happy city and Toph got her metal benders.

Now she was wishing a little more of the old ways and less of this uncharted new.

* * *

 _I'm the chief of police, what the hell am I doing on a stake out?_ Toph thought to herself as she sat in the automated cart. _Don't I have minions for this?_

She kicked the door open and placed her foot on the ground. No movement from the buildings.

"Boy am I glad you're here, chief," the officer in the driver's seat of the cart said. "You'll be able to feel them long before I'd be able to see them."

"Sure thing, Kanto," she scowled. She hated how she needed a driver for these kind of things. "Glad I could be of service."

Katara's demonstration was just a week away now. Toph needed some hard evidence on whether or not the criminals were at these last warehouses. Several places were being watched simultaneously.

It was hours before she heard any movement.

The warehouse she and her partner were canvassing was one of the buildings with attached internal ship hangers. It was as silent as the grave with the exception of scurrying rodents or birds. Until in the early hours before dawn she felt the vibrations.

They just appeared, middle of the warehouse… past the water and wooden docks. A half dozen footsteps on the inner stone floor.

"Got em!" Toph hissed. "They're in the center of the building, not using the ice flooring like Aang and Katara warned us about."

"Then let's get 'em!" Kanto repeated in agreement. His voice was deep and soothing. Toph hated to admit it, but she found it attractive. It was so different from the nasally, silly voice of her first crush Sokka's. When he stepped out of the cart she could feel his vibrations again, feel the weight of him on the ground. He was tall. Much taller than her, probably even taller than Aang. She didn't realize Water Tribe grew them that big until she met him.

But he was an underling- well, technically EVERYONE was to her- and she was… Toph. After the fallout with Satoru she didn't need anyone else.

They slid from the vehicle and padded quietly to the warehouse, Toph leading, following the feel of where the people in the building were. She found a steel door and easily slid it open, bending the lock. She'd replace it all after gathering intelligence.

Down deserted hallways, past empty hangars, Toph followed their shuffling feet with Kanto right behind her. They quickly came to the storeroom in the center of the building. She could smell the caustic chemicals required in the hide preservation process. Old blood, salted meats. This was definitely the bison chop shop. The criminals were talking freely, loud enough for even Kanto to hear. For Toph, it was like she was standing in the room with them.

"Latest buyer won't budge on the price," A nasally harsh woman's voice hissed out. "Some Earth Kingdom noble I guess."

"Do we have a name?" A man. Higher pitched. A little tinny. "Maybe we could shake 'em down a bit?"

"You are some kinda dense, aren't you?" Another male voice sneered. It was rough and cracking around the edges. "Yakone is a businessman, not a thug." A titter of laughter broke out through the small crowd. "The buyer is a woman by the name of Ling Pai, and we will honor the deal and pay her the utmost respect. She's a smart woman… refusing to meet us here at the docks. But she's stupid too… Avalone Park on a full moon? We'll get paid, don't you worry."

Toph could feel Kanto's heart jump and speed up. They had a place, a name, a buyer… and hopefully would have proof of blood bending. Now they just had to wait.

And hope Katara did her part.

* * *

Three weeks. Three weeks came flying at the three friends in the blink of an eye. Three friends who were barely on speaking terms in the convoluted mess of lies, half truths, and anger.

Toph wasn't speaking to Katara because Katara wasn't speaking to Aang. Aang wasn't speaking to Toph because Toph hadn't told him sooner about the bison.

Three weeks found the three of them thrown together in the council chambers, realizing at that moment the only people on THEIR side were each other.

The three of them were evidently the only ones who wanted to pass this law. They HAD to cooperate.

~0~

"I can hear everything they're saying in there," Toph grumbled, leaning against the heavy wooden door with her arms crossed over her armored bust, her head down, chin resting on her chest "They don't get it. They don't get it at all. I swear it's the first thing the council has ever agreed on this readily. This needs to pass. NOW. Tonight. I have a lead on Yakone. We could end this TONIGHT."

"They're scared..." Katara replied, holding her arms across her waist, curled in and shaking. "Scared of me... I'm scared of me."

"No, sweetie. Not of you," Aang reached out and touched his wife's face for the first time in three weeks. She seemed so broken. He hated himself. All he could think about was fixing this. Getting past this. Putting the pieces of their marriage back together. Duty as the Avatar and founder of Republic City … or duty as Aang, husband to Katara. "They're scared of change. They're clinging to old ways when the nation's didn't mix. You never had to worry about a bender using a technique against you that you didn't know because the races didn't mix. Well... We're mixed now, and now we have to protect this growing and developing future."

Katara looked at Aang and wondered not for the first time if he knew, if he really knew. His hand on her face was warm and inviting. She could feel his energy bouncing around inside of her from that touch. His eyes were so loving and supportive. He was right. The council needed to be made to understand. Katara couldn't have her child... their children... growing up in a world where these kind of things were okay.

"I'll do it," she looked back at Aang with determination. "We can't let this slip by. Bring the guinea-hare."

* * *

The high council consisted of seven people. Three from each nation who originally brought the city together plus Aang. Four benders leading three non benders. But ultimately it was the benders who had the say. In the old cultures, the benders were revered as leaders, but the old ways were slowly falling away. How long before those ways crumbled completely? A decade? Five? If everyone in this society was equal, where did that put benders and non benders?

Where did that leave the Avatar? A relic of a forgotten time...

The door creaked open and Aang, Toph, and Katara walked into the chamber. The other six council members glared at the trio. One man and one woman with pure heritages from each nation.

Katara realized how awkward it was... How segregated the council was... And here she was, a water bender carrying an air nomad's baby. Why hadn't they included anyone with mixed backgrounds?

Any of the grown children of Yu Duo?

"Avatar Aang, Lady Katara, and Chief Beifong," the water bending councilman began, "We all know why we're here, so if you wouldn't mind getting this over with. You know, Lady Katara, that we have Full Moon rituals that us Water Tribe members are missing for this…"

"Then you understand how important this is, Councilman Durtok," Katara replied, tersely polite. "You can feel the power of the full moon as well as I can. But there are benders out there who misuse this ability. It's dangerous and terrible."

"We'll be the judge of that, Young Lady," Durtok dismissively waved his hand at Katara. She despised the man. He was from the Northern Water Tribe and old enough to be her father. He clung to old ways. She was 26 years old and would be a mother herself soon enough. Talking down to her was a sure fire way to piss her off. Maybe blood bending him wouldn't be so terrible… "If it's even a real thing… Like I said, get on with it…"

The other council members nodded and murmured in agreement. The sun had set, the moon had risen, and they all just wanted to be home.

"Of course, sir," she bit back. Toph had to stifle a laugh, Aang grimaced. Durtok was in trouble. "The Guinea-hare please, Aang?"

The had agreed that Katara would demonstrate the bloodbending technique on an animal first, and if that wasn't good enough, then she'd have to bloodbend a council member or two. It was for educational purposes, just like healing lessons.. not revenge, not anger, not control… or at least that's what Katara kept telling herself.

Aang lifted the small furry animal out of the box he had it in. It squeaked and squealed quietly at the excitement. It had silky white and brown patchy fur, long ears, a short fluffy ball of a tail, and tiny scrabbling feet.

"As we've said… blood bending is a water bending ability only attainable by the strongest benders, and only under the full moon when our bending is at it's strongest…" She reached her hands towards the guinea-hare sitting patiently on the floor. The council members shifted and rolled their eyes.

Katara ignored them and focused. Focused on the blood in her own veins. Felt outward for all the water in the room… the tiny flutter in her gut, Aang's upbeat nervous tempo, the council members lumbering boredom, Toph's… well Toph's was shifting to match her own. She was watching the show with through the vibrations over everyone's heartbeats… in a way, Toph was a… blood listener? She settled her focus on the furry creature, reached out to it with her energy, felt the blood in the soft sack, heard the heart pumping… She could stop that heart. She knew it. Stop it in an instant.

Instead she reached out, hands poised before her like a puppeteer, resting her weight on her bent right leg and left leg extended straight before her, toe pointed to the sky.

And she seized control of the little animal. It stopped moving and became completely rigid.

"...It's at a time when there is an ability that I and some others posses. Where we can reach inside of another living creature and control their movements."

The council members leaned forward, unsure of what was happening. Katara twisted her fingers and made the guinea-hare twist and turn. It squealed in pain and confusion. Katara bit back tears, pushed down the vile voice in her head that said: take it. Take it's life. Pluck it out… you can do it…

"So you can command a little animal," The Fire Nation Council woman sneered. "It's a neat parlor trick… but why would we want to outlaw it?"

Aang closed his eyes and looked away. He knew what Katara had to do. He was a coward. He couldn't watch. Katara let a single tear slide down her face. Could he really not support her here?

"Aang…" she begged. He opened his eyes again. Looked right into hers. Locking his stormy sky on her placid lake. No. He would be here for her. He would be strong for her. He sent her all the unsaid strength their silent bond could give. He nodded. Do it.

"Because, my dear members of our esteemed council, simple parlor tricks should not be able to end this way."

She reached in and dug into the little animal. She was a fast learner. She had seen the bloodbender… Yakone was the name Toph gave him from her intel… She saw what he did. This would be sloppy, untrained…. but Katara was so so so strong. She curled her hands around, the backs of each against each other and ripped outward as if she was tearing an invisible cloth.

She had to do it. Had to shock the council.

The little animal screamed once in terror as it was ripped in half, betrayed by the blood in its own tiny body. Split down the center as easily as parting waves. Gore and slick red fluids spilled onto the bright white and grey marble floor. The only thing keeping the pieces together was the exposed spine, shiny and white. She couldn't sever that.

It had been so easy. Something clicked in Katara, shifted in that moment. She was a mother tiger-bear, hungry for more and ready to defend her loved ones.

This time, the council members gasped. The earthbending council man gave a little effeminate shriek of horror. Toph smirked. Wuss. That was amazing. Absolutely brutal and vile, but amazing. She heard the splash of the fluids hitting the floor and the sudden stop of its tiny heartbeat.

Oh yeah. Blood bending needed outlawed.

Katara turned her hard gaze on Durtok and fixed her vision on him. She reached towards him in the aftershock. Felt for his life force. If they wanted a show, she'd give them a show.

Durtok's dark blue eyes snapped wide with fear. He couldn't move. And then he did. He suddenly stood and cried out in agony. It hurt. Hurt so badly. The blood in his body flowing contrary to the way he willed it. His arms flung out wide, spreading his body as if it were being crucified.

"Don't fight it sir… it will only make it worse…" Katara cooed, almost seductively. Aang's vision shifted to his wife. There was an unfamiliar gleam in her eyes. It was dangerous. Hungry.

Holy fuck.

No wonder she hated blood bending so much. It was too much power. It tapped into parts of Katara nothing ever should.

"Katara." Aang whispered. He reached over and touched her shoulder. She was hot, boiling hot as if she was a fire bender. But the heat wasn't from flame. It was raw energy and power and malicious anger. "Genjin. This isn't you. You've made your point. Come back to me."

It was the name Genjin that did it. Katara could feel her soul mate pleading to her, touching her, loving her even through the pain and terror. Like she did for him when he would enter the Avatar State in rage and despair.

Aang felt the shift in her energy immediately. It cooled and calmed. Durtok fell into his chair, gasping and shaking. Katara dropped her hands and slumped against Aang's chest, tired and worn. Tears were streaming down her face as he stroked her head, humming soothing words.

"It's ok. It's all over. You did fine. I'm right here. I love you so much." She sobbed and clutched at his chest.

"Now do you get it?" Toph growled at the council. "Now do you see why no one should be able to use this kind of power against another person, or even another animal for that matter? Do you get it NOW?"

The council members couldn't sign the treaty into law fast enough.

* * *

 **One more chapter after this and I'm a little tapped out for a while. So the Blood bender is the younger, infamous Yakone. and I threw in Kanto for good measure. What will happen with Yakone? Will Aang find out he's a father? This chapter doubled in length beyond what I was expecting… so I broke it in two.**

 **Please review!**


	17. Shadows of Hama The Bloodbenders

**The conclusion to the bloodbending saga. Thanks for joining me! Send me some reviews and I'll keep writing! I like making Toph cuss like a sailor...seems like a habit she'd get into as she matured. I enjoy playing with the characters, making sure they each have their own unique dialogue and speech patterns. I hope that came across through this story.**

* * *

 _Shadows of Hama ~ The Bloodbenders_

"We have to move fast," Toph said as she clipped extra metal cuffs to her utility belt. "I have a task force out in Avalone Park at the ready awaiting my signal. Thankfully as far as we know there's only one blood bender. We contacted Lady Ling Pai earlier this week and replaced her with an undercover officer to act as her double. She said the water benders hadn't actually seen her face yet. Thankfully, Lady Ling Pai arranged the meeting for a park without water. She was being very cautious. Smart lady in that regard. Stupid that she set it up on a full moon."

Aang glanced at the clock on the wall of the the supply room. The ticking piece of technology was such an intriguing creation of the mechanist's. A vast improvement over the spark candles.

"We have about two hours to get to the park and get into position based on that information." He turned to Katara. She was pale and shaky still. Exhausted. He'd make this all up to her, he promised himself. He swore to himself. He needed her one last time tonight. "Katara… we need you still. You're the only blood bender on our side. If shit goes south… I … I need you. You're my only hope."

She looked up at him, determination shining in her bloodshot eyes.

"I know. The law states it's permissible in self defense. You wrote a good law sweetie." She touched his face gently. He was so worried about her she could tell he wanted to just take her home and wrap her in blankets and shield her from the world right now. But right now they had a duty. A mission. They had to stop Yakone. "I need to see this through… and then… just… then."

She couldn't tell him. Not yet.

* * *

"It's a good thing you didn't tell Aang about the pregnancy. I thought you were about to… he'd never let you come on this mission," Toph whispered to Katara as they were climbing in to the motor cart. "And we need you here tonight. We can take out waterbenders... but a blood bender?"

"I know. Me too." She glanced at Aang. He was talking to the driver. Her hands fell to her abdomen defensively. "But I'm still me. The baby is just as safe now as any other time. It's life. We still go about our business of hunting or working or fighting or whatever we need to do. This early, its so tiny, protected under the muscle and everything. Later would be more dangerous. Most women don't even know this early. I just know because of my healing abilities… and… bloodbending."

"Ready ladies?" Aang interjected cheerily through the window of the cart. Katara had been watching him the whole time. He hadn't heard a thing.

"Let's roll," Toph nodded. A wicked and sly grimace crossed her face. "Let's fuck up some criminals."

* * *

It took about a half hour to get across town to the park. It may have been a full moon, but the sky was dark and overcast, clouds heavy with rain. Katara scowled at that. It would give the waterbenders an advantage if it started to actually fall. Yakone would be strong enough to actually pull the water right from the air.

 _Where had he learned the technique?_ she wondered. _Did he develop it on his own? Did Hama some how teach him?_ Because of his mask, they hadn't been able to guess at his age. His voice didn't have a particularly old tone to it, but he could have easily been anywhere from twenty to sixty years old. Had they actually met him at some point in their travels and never known? Like the healer in the Fire Nation Aang had told her about. He definitely couldn't have been southern water tribe, and he didn't have the Foggy Swamp drawl. So he must be from the Northern Water Tribe.

They were here. They were in position. Now they waited. Just like a month before.

The earth and metal bending officers were scattered about the park in pairs, blending in to the evening crowds. Luckily it was still early enough that there still were some. They were going to treat the deal as if the police were trying to bust a counterfeit operation… even though they knew it was the real stuff. Draw them into a fight. Force Yakone to blood bend for witnesses… They needed the evidence.

Aang and Katara sat cuddled together on a park bench, just a little ways away from the Ling Pai decoy. The pair were dressed as Fire Nation commoners. Aang tugged on his hood keeping his arrow concealed. He was even wearing his old head band.

"Ironic that we're wearing this stuff huh?" Katara quietly chuckled, making small talk while they waited. It was nice to talk to him again anyways. She had let her emotions run her for too long. He loved her and supported her. "We were wearing something like this the last time we faced a blood bender."

Aang kissed her forehead and wrapped his arm around her tightly. The night would have been great if they didn't have to spend it waiting for Water Tribe criminals. And the whole bloodbending thing he made Katara do.

*STOMP STOMP*

Aang felt the vibrations through the thin soles of his boots. It was the signal. He gripped Katara's hand. She looked into his intense eyes. They were here.

Aang recognized the pattern the people took immediately. Their movements were just as coordinated as before, just without sheets of ice. No masks. It would be too conspicuous. Only six of them this time. They weren't preparing for a bison raid, just a contraband deal. He spied around. All of the police cover had taken note of the Water Tribe gang and were poised. Nonchalantly attentive.

Where was Yakone?

* * *

A tall thin water tribe woman strolled up to the Ling Pai decoy. She had a tightly knotted braid hanging down her back. No beads, no necklace. Muscled bare arms. The blues of her tunic and leggings were muted and dark in the flicker of the streetlamps that dotted the paths of the wooded park. She had a satchel slung across her body. They would have sent the least imposing of the group to parlay with the buyer… if this was their _least_ imposing…

'Ling Pai' stood from her bench to greet the woman, appearing tentative and nervous. She probably was. The liaison shook her head, a stern look on her wide, flat face. She swung the strap of the satchel over her head and placed it in her lap as she sat on the far end of the bench. She slid the satchel towards Ling Pai. She took it and opened it, inspecting the contents. She went to take it out, but the other woman stopped her, shaking her head again. Words were exchanged quietly and heatedly. Aang and Katara couldn't make out what was being said.

It happened in an instant. The water tribe woman jumped up and made to run. She must have sensed the trap. She pulled a fist full of water from a canteen in her bag. She was a bender. The rest of the gang started making movements to book it. Toph couldn't let that happen.

"Arrest them! All of them! Now!" she shouted from behind a tree, her voice booming across the landscape. Fighting and bending broke out. The few civilians around screamed and scattered. Only half of the gang who had come were waterbenders; some of the police force weren't benders either.

All the non benders were well trained in hand to hand combat anyways. They were strong and agile.

Aang and Katara sat ready and poised. They weren't part of the police force. They couldn't actually join in the fray. Yet.

The fighting was violent and short lived. Toph was brutal, slamming the criminals with earth and stone. The waterbenders were no rookies, pulling whips and ice from the damp ground and air, carrying ballasts of water like Katara had hidden in Fire Nation red at her hip. Several of the police officers went down in the scuffle. Metal cuffs were whipped out and shackles snapped on wrists and and ankles.

Then *HE* stepped out. He didn't have his mask on this time, but Katara could tell. It was Yakone. She could feel his malice, his power. His deadly strength. He was about their age, maybe a smidge older. Broad, strong Water Tribe features. Northern Water Tribe. He glared in Toph's direction as she clamped cuffs on the tall waterbending woman.

"This won't do at all." He stretched his hands towards Toph . She didn't even have time to react to the booming, gravelly voice before she lost control of her own body. Blind and immobilized, she was lifted ever so slightly off the ground. She couldn't feel anything. For the first time in her life she was COMPLETELY blind. She was terrified. She had never thought she could feel so helpless. The only moment in her life when she had been this frightened was when she and Sokka were hanging from the crashing war balloon as Sokka was losing grip on her hand, ready to slip into the unknown abyss. Suddenly she felt her hands shove towards the cuffs to unlock them.

Anyone conscious stared in shock as the mighty Toph Beifong was rendered completely powerless.

"KATARA!" she shrieked, a pitiful and petrified noise ripped from her mouth, so unlike the voice she knew.

Aang and Katara were up in an instant, ready to defend their friend. Katara reached up, poised to take control back from Yakone. He sneered in her direction as he forced Toph to unlock the cuffs on the water bending woman. They clanked and clattered as they fell. The woman scurried away.

"Release her this instant!" Katara screamed at Yakone, her voice full of motherly, protective rage. No one hurts her sister!

Yakone took stock of the pair, realization dawning in his icy blue eyes. The positioning of Katara's hands betrayed her.

"You must be Katara…" he hissed, refusing to move. "Hama told me about you. It's truly an honor to meet you… again. I recognize the technique. Hama was too old and weak to teach it to me properly, the was she did you… But as you can see, I learned it just the same when I found her in that asylum."

He lifted Toph higher, controlling her blood and flung her across the park. Her body slammed into a tree with a sickening thud. She slumped unconscious. Aang could feel through the ground tremors that she was breathing, heart still beating. If she hadn't been wearing that armor… Aang rushed to her side on an air scooter. He had to tend to the others. Yakone was Katara's fight. She was the only one that could stop him.

"I'm awfully sorry I must do this, Lady Katara, you are quite an inspiration," Yakone smirked and eyed Katara with a look of hungry curiosity. "But I can't let you ruin my reputation… it's just good business you know."

He reached his hand out towards Katara, his fingers twisted down as if holding a marionette by it's delicate strings. It had been many years since Hama had seized control of the water in Katara's blood, but the hideousness and disgust came flooding back to her.

Muscles stretched and creaked under her skin against her will painfully. Making the blood flow awkwardly in her flesh, the man tried to push her back into the trees. He laughed gleefully the moment his blood bending energy seeped into Katara's veins. Katara glanced at her husband, running towards her at breakneck speed, as only an Airbender can. The look of panic was the same one he had had the moment before the Butterfly Spirit ripped her out of his arms and across the layered planes of existence.

"Not another step, Avatar," he cackled, "or I will end her. She has always been your greatest weakness."

It had all happened so fast. Aang frightfully obeyed. If the blood bender was strong enough to slice apart the bison, obviously he could do the same with human flesh. He knew this man had hideous abilities with his bending, but hadn't imagined he'd actually use it on another human. Aang knew that he himself could physically take another life with relative ease, but he, along with most of the powerful benders on the planet, had sworn he never would unless in self defense. Bending, like any other tool, can be a means for great creation or a terrible weapon.

Aang had to let Katara go and hope she could break the blood bending hold on her own. They would hunt him down and bring him to justice another day. One that didn't coincide with the full moon.

Katara knew she was by far the stronger bender. She could free herself from his grasp. Katara had let him move her instead of fighting it. It hurt less that way. And she might be able to lull him into a false sense of security. But then she felt his energy tickle along her abdomen.

Touch the fragile mass of cells that had a weakly fluttering heartbeat which she didn't dare disturb...

A deliciously malicious smile broke out across the man's face a moment later.

"Oh goodness! What is that I sense? A second heartbeat…" Yakone's voice dripped with surprised venom. "My my Avatar, you've been busy in your absence. My congratulations."

Aang didn't need to be blood bent to have his heart stopped in that instant. In a flash, he put everything together that had happened in the last month. Her moods. Her illness. Her fatigue. He realized that he had actually touched on that heartbeat several times, not comprehending what it was. Had heard and felt its tell tale fluttering.

Katara was pregnant with his child. And this madman could snuff out that precious life in an instant.

There is no describing the flurry of emotions, confusion, and helplessness that ran through Aang's soul in that instant. This was even worse than the Butterfly Spirit Hong-Die.

Katara on the other hand let her emotions go. All but one. The protective rage that only a parent- a mother who is tethered directly to her child's life force for ten months- can feel.

It was effortless in that moment for Katara to cast aside the man's power over her- and her baby. She shook the energy off as casually as one would shake water off of their body after a light shower. Her bending energy completely encased her, protected her and the baby. Blood bending her would be impossible.

Yakone took a step back in shock and surprise. The fierce look of pure hatred shown through Katara's deep blue eyes as they were bathed in the bright white moonlight that broke through the thick clouds.

"You aren't the only blood bender here. I was stronger than our teacher ten years ago, and I'm stronger than you now." Katara raised her arms and ripped the water from the plants around the man. She twisted her own hands and instantly formed ice shackles around his hands and feet, binding him from bending. If you can't use your limbs, you can't bend. She knew it wouldn't last, but it would give Aang the time he needed to finish the job with other elements. Take him out. Remove his bending. Something.

"Stronger?" He yelled, his voice full of bravado, with just the hint if underlying fear. "Then why do you still need to gesture to bend? Why do you only water bend? Why don't you use your blood bending? LIKE ME!"

He focused his gaze on Aang and changed tactics. Katara could feel the man's energy slide past her and into Aang with nothing but a thought.

Aang prided himself on quick wits and the uncanny speed of an air bender, but in this moment, his mind was molasses. He was still processing the revelation that Katara was pregnant in those few seconds. He hesitated in attacking the man when he had the chance.

And now he was frozen in the man's gaze. He recognized the way his blood stopped and fought against his muscles. He couldn't move, couldn't bend, couldn't even enter the Avatar state. But his mind finally cleared. Katara had complete control of herself. She was safe. Their baby was safe. He couldn't hurt them.

But he could hurt Aang. The energy felt similar to Katara's... But instead of cool and comforting, it was icy and painful. It stabbed into him like the fangs of a rat viper. Frigid tendril-like fingers dug past his sternum and wrapped themselves around his heart. He was helpless to stop it. His last thought was that Katara needed to protect herself and their baby as he felt the foul energy squeeze the viral organ and stop it from beating.

"NOOOOO!" Katara let out a blood curdling mortified screech. She threw her will and energy at the man, her fingers stretched out like a messenger hawk's gripping talons and threw him into a large old tree with all the blood bending force she could muster. She could hear bones shatter and snap as he slumped to the ground. Whether it was from the force of his soft body slamming into the solid tree, or from the sheer will of her blood bending, she didn't know. He fell to the forest floor in a heap, his arm bent at a sickening angle.

Katara knew what the cruel man had done. He was shockingly fast and only had grasp of Aang's heart for a moment, but that moment was all he needed to grind it to a halt. She could feel her husband's life force and spirit stand still. He wasn't dead, but he would be if she didn't act immediately.

Aang was prostrate on the ground, his body limp and lifeless. Katara rushed to his side and sunk to her knees in the long grass. She desperately tore his robes away from his chest. There wasn't any blood pooling under his pale skin, no internal bleeding. His heart was still whole. It just needed restarted. If she could get it working. She closed her eyes in prayerful meditation and drew down energy from the full moon, begging Yue for aid. She didn't have any Spirit Water directly from the moon this time.

"Don't let him die, Yue. Please. Give me the strength to keep him."

She pulled more water from her ballast, her hands glistening with an unearthly pale blue light. It was soft and soothing, where Aang's Avatar glow was harsh and forceful. The power of the full moon filled her, touching every fiber of her being. Every cell was energized. When she opened her eyes, all she could see through the gentle blue glow of her healing energy was water. The molecules in the air, the dew on the grass, the still blood in her husband's veins.

She laid her hand on his bare, scarred chest and pushed that blue light into him. Through the solid mass of his sternum and around his silent heart. She wrapped it delicately around the organ and began caressing it with the curls of energy. She was blood bending *with* his body instead of against it. Healing instead of harming through the evil art. Willing the blood to flow through the veins, pumping his heart by force.

But it still wasn't beating on its own.

"Please Aang, please. Come back to me. I need you. I can't do this alone. I want you to meet your child. We have our whole lives ahead of us still. I love you." Tears were dropping onto his slack face as she continued thrusting wave after wave of energy into his chest. She could hear the monster who reached into her husband's veins and stopped his heart beginning to awaken. He let out an agonized moan and stirred in the grass.

Katara couldn't focus on him right now. She needed her husband. He was an airbender... Maybe he needed air too, not just water. There was a healing technique that she had known since she was a very young water tribe girl. Where a person who had lost consciousness in the water would need air breathed into their lungs to help revive them. They weren't in water... But it had been a water bending force that had stopped his life... She was desperate. She leaned over and pressed her mouth to his as if giving him a passionate kiss and breathed her own air into his lungs. She watched as his rib cage rose and fell with her breath. Meanwhile she never stopped pumping is heart.

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"GASP! ACK! COUGH!"

Aang's diaphragm pulled his lungs open and he choked in a first gasping breath, his beads rattling against each other as his chin shook. After what seemed like hours, Katara felt Aang's heart pump steady and strong on his own. In reality it had barely been thirty seconds. His eyes fluttered open once and locked on Katara's desperately relieved face for a moment before he fell unconscious again. But he maintained his breathing and heartbeat.

"Oh my Aang!" she quietly cried. She hugged him tightly to her bosom and just rocked back and forth, consumed by her rolling wave of emotions. All of her remaining charged healing energy flowed into him gently. She was literally sacrificing part of herself and giving him her own life force. She took several deep breathes to steady herself and took stock of her surroundings.

For several minutes, the entire area had finally fallen silent. The wind was still in the trees and even the animals seemed to take pause in the violent situation.

Toph was still in a heap at the edge of the clearing, but Katara could see the small woman's chest rising and falling steadily just fine. There was a small collection of men and women from both sides that were scattered across the bloody battlefield. All on their side were still among the living. Some of Yakone's compatriots that were still around, were not. Toph had been merciless and brutal. Her officers were like children to her. Katara gave a weak smile thinking about how Toph had become so protective. Miss 'I pull my own weight' and 'let's break some rules!' to this unified team player and respected force of nature, guardian of law and order.

She turned her attention towards the man known as Yakone. The poacher. The criminal. The monster.

He had regained consciousness and was groaning as he tried to stand. He cried out in pain several times before he successfully sat up.

Katara's hatred flared for this man. In that moment she wanted to snuff out his existence. This man didn't deserve to live. He was too dangerous. Another blood bender. And one that obviously didn't care if he took human life. Katara's delicate features twisted into a ferocious snarl as she summoned all of her remaining strength to find water wherever she could. All she needed was a single well aimed ice dagger. It was small, but the man's black heart would be her target. He was prone. A helpless sitting turtleduck

"Genjin, no," a pleading voice echoed through her mind and soul. The overlaid voice of countless lifetimes of her soul mate. "You are life and humanity. Hope and forgiveness. To kill in the heat of battle is one thing, but not like this. This is not who we are. Justice will be done on him, but not today. There has been enough bloodshed."

"I understand, Avatar," she whispered and kissed his arrowed forehead. But she kept her defenses high, ready to strike if needed. She glared at the man.

He stood unsteadily, holding his arm and side. Ribs must have broken too. Wet blood was dripping from the tear in his arm where the broken bone jutted out of the flesh, splattering onto the leaf litter of the forest floor, staining it purple in the moonlight.

"You didn't take the shot? All the power in the world, and you're still weak. I'm out of the poaching game. Hunting the air bison is a waste of my time if it draws such attention from the Avatar and his coward of a whore. I'll find more subtle, lucrative investments." He nodded at Katara as she cradled Aang protectively. "If nothing else, this encounter has been... informative. I have no doubt you could easily end me, but won't. You're too 'good'. But I know better than to poke a mother polar-bear dog past her patience. You are an incredible healer and blood bender. Hama was right about you, all that wasted potential. It's a shame you ended up with this airbending fool. Maybe in another lifetime… maybe if you had noticed ME at the North Pole instead of him… Goodness… what amazing children we could have had… Instead of that dull thing you're carrying… Best of health in your pregnancy. And give my condolences to the Avatar... Won't he be disappointed when he learns what his child is... or more specifically... is NOT."

The man turned on his heals and ran back into the park, a noticeable limb in his step. He kicked up a great misty fog to conceal his retreat. Katara stroked Aang's unconscious head and sobbed.

* * *

 **That's it for a little while folks. I need to get back to concentrating on my novel. I hope you're enjoying this! Give me some support and I'll have the inspiration to continue this! Maybe a fluffy one shot? Give me some ideas :)**

 **Aang knows! How will that affect their relationship?**

 **So in Legend of Korra, Yakone tries to kill Aang with blood bending by snapping his neck… why didn't he just stop Aang's heart? Because he knew Katara or a healer trained by her would be able to just start it again… but a broken neck… can't heal that. And how was Aang able to break Yakone's hold in Legend of Korra... it can't just be an 'avatar' thing... or else Aang would be able to metal bend when in the Avatar State... tidbits of what I'll do next.**


	18. Awakening

**Awakening**

 **Short and sweet. Sorry I was gone for so long! I was working on my actual novel… plus my laptop smashed and it took forever for the insurance to replace it!**

 **Send me some feedback, please! What do you want to see?! I need a touch of inspiration. Not much, just a bit.**

* * *

tick tick tick tick tick

The pendulum of the Mechanist's clock on the wall clicked loudly back and forth. The woman sitting nervously beside the open window glanced back at the man lying peacefully in the bed. She traced the petals of the carved pink flower on her choker with nimble fingertips absentmindedly, worried. Sunlight was trying desperately to peak through the cloud cover but failing. It was a dark and foreboding morning.

He was reclined on fluffy koala-sheep wool stuffed pillows and billowing sheets, chest gently rising and falling. Blankets woven from collected and cleaned Sky Bison fur from Appa were folded neatly on top of him to starve off the early autumn chill. Comforts that he would recognize upon waking. Her young husband had spent too many times waking from near death in strange and unfamiliar places. Here smelled and felt like home.

Their own bed was better than any of the cots at the healer's clinic. She had already worked as much magic as she could. Now it was just rest and time. No bones had been broken. Nothing so severe that a surgeon or specialist would be useful at this point.

Just death.

She'd fixed that before.

This time she was able to do it without special water.

She didn't know how many more times she could save him without killing herself in the process, pouring her own energy and life force into him. But she loved him. Their souls were so intertwined she couldn't tell where hers ended and his began.

Now all she could do was wait.

Again.

* * *

He stirred, his brow furrowing, tip of the blue arrow tattoo on his forehead wrinkling. He groaned a bit as he moved. The woman's heart froze. Joy and fear fiercely combating inside her soul; relief at his health, trepidation at his impending awakening.

He knew now.

Knew that she was pregnant. Knew that she was carrying his child. Their child. How would he react now in the light of day? Now that the imminent danger had passed.

"…'Tara…" he murmured. "Come here… I know you're there."

She hesitated, still wary. Maybe she could slip out and postpone this still.

"I know you. You'd never leave my side," he continued, reaching his hand out a bit. "I can feel you. Please."

It was the 'please.' So desperate and needing. And full of love.

She fell to her knees beside his bed and clasped his pale tattooed hand.

"I'm here, Aang." She rubbed the back of his hand against her cheek. It was warm and dry. He needed more water. Tea and broth now that he was awake. "I'm always right here."

He smiled- a faint tugging at the corners of his thin lips, his beard braids twitching- and turned his palm to cup her face.

"Is it true?" he whispered, opening his eyes slowly. His grey storm clouds focused and locked on her ocean pools. She held her breath, terrified. "Are you pregnant? Am I going to be a father?"

"Yes Aang. It's true," she breathed, almost ashamed to admit it finally. There was still a layer of secrets in that revelation. His breath was a sharp intake as there was a slight, subconscious pressure change in the room that Katara couldn't quite read. What feelings could possibly be passing through his mind?

Fast as lightening Aang was up and pulled Katara into the bed with him, strong hands tight around her hips, making her yelp. She tumbled gracelessly into the billowing sheets that were flung up by a burst of air. She was crushed in the tightest hug her husband had ever given her. Tears burst from her eyes before she could register what was happening. He was laughing and smiling and crying all at once.

"Oh Katara! Why would you keep this from me?! This is wonderful!" He couldn't stop kissing her cheeks and her neck and her lips, shaking with so much overwhelming emotion.

"Aang! Calm down!" she choked out between breathless kisses. "You just died. AGAIN! You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Don't care. I'm not dead." He rolled her over and pinned her down protectively underneath his arms. "And you're here and so alive and carrying our baby safe and sound."

"You're ridiculous…" she finally laughed in return.

"There. You laughed. I made you make that noise," Aang sighed. Yeah he died. Again. But he would have died twice if anything had happened to Katara last night. He assumed it was last night. It didn't feel like he had lost much time. He turned solemn, stroking Katara's face and looking for clues there to explain her elusive behavior. "But seriously. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you take that insane risk of going out against Yakone?"

She looked away, unable to meet his beautiful gaze again.

"Because I had to. We had to stop Yakone…" She was stalling, her eyes darting back and forth. "And it's a good thing I was there, or he would have killed you…"

"Well… now he knows that the greatest healer and bloodbender on the planet is my wife and a silly thing like stopping my heart won't knock me out for good," he laughed and sat up, propping his hands on his hips, jutting his bare, scarred chest out. But then he winced and grabbed at his sternum, rubbing at the stabbing pain. "Ow… it… still hurts."

"It's going to hurt, you big dumby!" Katara curled in to his torso and stroked at it. She pulled some nearby water from a pitcher effortlessly through the air and energized it, soothing it into her husband's injured heart. "Yakone did a number on you…"

"Yeah… I guess he did." He couldn't let her go. The cool healing waters felt so good, the dead ache in his chest subsiding and familiar desires perking up under her touch. She was hiding something. "So… how far along are you? How long have you known?"

She bit her lip and looked up at him with shining eyes. She looked sad and scared. What was it? What else wasn't she telling him?

"I've known for over a month… I think it was Kyoshi Island…" she admitted. Her hands fell to her abdomen protectively.

Aang suddenly remembered all the times recently she had done that. Her crabbiness. Her fatigue. How had he missed the tells?!

"But… why didn't you tell me sooner?" Aang was getting annoyed and confused. Why would she keep such important information from him? He was the father and husband. They were a team. They never keep secrets from each other.

"Well, a lot can go wrong early on… I didn't want you to get excited just to be let down…" It was half true…

"Then if it had gone wrong I could be there to support you…"

"…and…" She had to tell him. She would take whatever reaction he had.

"What?! Is something wrong?" he was immediately concerned, assuming the worst. He grabbed her hands and hovered over her a bit. She was the greatest healer alive, if there was something wrong with the baby, she'd know…she'd fix it, right? She had that ability, right? Honestly, he didn't know if she did or not, he just assumed. In this instant a million things went through his head.

"I… I don't think the baby is an airbender…" she finally admitted, tears falling down her soft cheeks. "I don't feel any bending energy from it... I don't think it's a bender at all… I'm so sorry. I feel like I've failed you."

Aang felt like he had been punched in the gut. He knew that his face fell for a moment, betraying his disappointment. The Last Airbender, with a child who can't airbend… The Avatar, with a child who can't bend at all. But…

"So… what you're saying is that the baby's fine, you mean?" he continued tentatively hopeful. He let go of his wife's hands and grabbed her face instead, making her look him in the eye. He forced a steady look across his own face. He wiped her tears away with his rough thumbs. "Whole, healthy, growing?"

"Well, yeah, but…" Katara started, glancing away again, before he cut her off.

"Sweetie. Stop. The baby's healthy. That's all that matters. There's no apologizing. We knew it was a chance. A gamble. Babies are going to be whatever they're going to be. You can't control the outcome." He wouldn't let go of her face until she looked him in the eyes. "Not having a bending child isn't your fault. Having a child, no matter what it is, is a blessing and a miracle. I love you. And I love our child. He or she will do great things because that's who they are and who they will be. We know tons of amazing people who aren't benders. And we know tons of complete hog-monkeys who ARE benders…"

Katara just started laughing. She couldn't handle the overwhelming swell of emotions that flooded her psyche. She could sense Aang's disappointment, but at the same time, everything he was saying was true as well. Not having bending children had never been grounds for anything significant at the South Pole, but she knew all Air Nomads were benders.

"So… you're not upset?" Katara tentatively asked, wiping her face again with her long blue sleeve.

"I'm only upset that you didn't tell me sooner…" Aang reached his fingers for Katara's still flat belly, but stopped and looked at her hopefully. "May I? Please?"

She laughed again, more tears bursting from her eyes. She was so happy. She palmed some more water from the jug for her husband and passed it to his hand. It rolled like a shimmering glass marble above his palm, glowing with healing energy. "Yes. Of course. If you're gentle you can feel the heartbeat."

His eyes lit up with joy as she loosened her belt and opened up her dress. Her body was exposed before him, just bindings underneath the wrap. She was so wonderful and beautiful. What a miraculous temple, fit for housing his child.

He tentatively felt along Katara's abdomen with his waterbending. A sharp intake of breath escaped her lips as the cool waters flowed over her. She suddenly realized that she had never felt another's healing hands on her before. And this was Aang. Her best friend. Husband. Lover. Feeling his energy slip into her like that? Even in this moment, she could feel the connection between them, feel it touch something deep in her soul. Grab on deep down in her heart and root chakras and sink sensual teeth into her bones. Is this what it felt like whenever she mended him? She never knew. No wonder he would have such visceral reactions to her healing touch!

Aang was oblivious to how his energy was effecting Katara in that moment. He closed his eyes tightly and concentrated, his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth like it would when he was focusing on a problem. Right now, he was focused on searching for a heartbeat. A fast, quiet rhythm that would be the definitive answer to his prayers. A child. His child.

There. There it was. The telltale flutter of the heartbeat. His recognized it now. He had been feeling it for a while now, and had never realized. He felt his heart ready to burst all over again. He looked up into her eyes, his vision cloudy with tears he couldn't contain.

"Oh Katara!" he choked. "I can feel it! I can hear it! It's the most beautiful thing ever!"

"Really?" she gasped, coming back to her senses a bit, feeling the warm glow of his love. Of their shared love for each other and their child.

"Of course." He kissed her forehead, then slid himself down her body and kissed her belly, just below her navel. "You're perfect, my little baby. I love you just the way you are. Never forget that."

"Oh sweetie… I was so worried you'd be upset…"

Aang glanced back up at his wife's face, torso propped up on the pillows. His eyes darted back and forth a bit, thinking before continuing. "Well, I'd be lying if I would say that I'm not a little disappointed that it's not an airbender… It's just what I'm used to… but there's a baby… and it's all ours… and healthy and wonderful. I can't get hung up on the what ifs. Just the what is. And what is is perfect."

"What is, right now, is you needing more rest," Katara smiled at him and stroked his smooth head along his bright blue tattoo. "Stop dying on me! Crimeny Aang…"

"I know…" he grinned sheepishly. "I think we're going to spend our whole lives fighting crazy odds like this… Kinda comes with the territory, huh? Now I know why Roku retired early to his own island and avoided everyone for so long."

"Well, we have our own island… so we're already one step ahead of him," Katara chuckled, "but I don't think we get to retire just yet."

"Yeah. Too much shit to deal with…" Aang paused and palmed Katara's belly. His big hands completely covered her. It was still so small. "So… where is Yakone?"

"No idea," she replied. "He's totally in the wind. We were too busy piecing you and everyone else back together for the last few days…" Aang gasped and shot her a worried glance. "Yes days… don't give me that look… you get knocked out for days on end way too often… Just two this time. Your heart stopped for crying out loud… anyway. I don't think we'll hear from him for a while. He said he was out of the bison poaching business…"

"Well… that's good…" Aang sighed, "but he'll be back in some other way I'm afraid… Katara… if you're not there next time…"

"I know…"

Aang bit his lip, mimicking his wife's behavior. He was worried. he didn't want to say what was on his mind next. Didn't want to upset his poor wife who had already been through so much lately. The Avatar needs to master ALL bending… He couldn't metal bend, but waterbending was second nature to him.. which meant the other water bending disciplines might be as well..."You're not going to like this… but…"

"I need to teach you blood bending," Katara continued, blankly. Matter of factly. She was staring out the window at the rustling orange and yellowing leaves. The season of the Air nomads. She had been rolling the idea around in her head for the last few days. If he was ever blood bent again without Katara there to rescue him? He'd have to know how to get out of it. He needed to master bloodbending for himself. "For your own safety and the safety of others. The only way to stop a blood bender is with another blood bender… and I'm obviously not the only one anymore…"

"I hate having to make you do this… again…" Aang sighed. What she had done the last time- it was terrifying. But Aang had done terrifying things over the years as well… when the ends have to justify the means. He touched her hand lightly. To his surprise, she didn't shy away. She had a stern and determined look in her eyes. "But where is Yakone now? We can't just let him go scot free."

"Toph's already on that," Katara continued resolutely. How their conversations would twist and wander. Joy and business mixed together. But that's life. "She has a task force set up on him. She said it's her job anyways. Said our job was getting you healthy and taking care of the baby."

"Wait a second!" Aang sat back up quickly again, catching himself with the pain of the rapid movement. "Toph knows? How does… oh my spirits…. She's known all along, hasn't she?… That's why you two were fighting wasn't it…"

It was Katara's turn to look sheepish. "Yeah… she knew the first day we were back. Can't keep anything from that blind lie detector!"

"She knew and STILL let you go after Yakone?!" Aang was getting angry. Toph should have told him. She should have never let Katara put herself in that kind of danger.

"Aang." Katara's voice was short and clipped, the edges of irritation evident in the timbre. "It wasn't Toph's call. It was mine. We spent the last month fighting and not talking to each other. We're not going to spend the next several hours going around in circles over this. What happened happened. And it all turned out for the best."

"I guess you're right… I'm still going to be grumpy…" he slumped over with his arms crossed.

"That's fine. I'll take it. I understand." Katara leaned over and kissed the tip of his arrow. She slid out of the bed and stood beside him. Even cranky, he eyed her open dress and shapely hip. "You rest. I'll get you some kelp broth and tea. Nothing too heavy for you yet. Meanwhile I have some roast duck waiting for me. Sorry but this baby craves meat…"

Aang smirked at her. "Understandable… if the baby isn't an airbender then of course he or she would want that. Will probably take after Uncle Sokka…"

Katara's face shot wide with shock and she thumped her palm against her forehead in a very Sokka-like fashion. "Oh my spirits! Sokka! I haven't told him yet- or my dad for that matter! It's been so crazy!"

"It's probably a good thing you hadn't… he would have told me immediately. He's terrible at keeping secrets!" Aang reached over and patted his hand against Katara's hip. "Go get your food, sweetie. I'm not going anywhere for a while. And send a hawk south inviting your family up so we can tell them in person. They can take an airship. There are a few stationed down there. By the time they get the message and come here, you should be past the danger zone of miscarriage anyways."

"Everything's going to be different again, isn't it?" Katara looked down her belly, and then at her husband. The wind began to howl outside of their peaceful bungalow, the skies thickly clouded now, threatening rain and storms. Her hormone riddled mind ran away from her with worry… like it did all those years ago before the day of Black Sun. How many more times would Aang make it back from the brink of death? How many more times could his body take that kind of toll? There was hope for the Sky Bison… was there any for the airbenders? Would Katara ever have an airbender? Would her husband ever get to see his people thrive again?

"Everything's always different with us. We just keep making it up as we go along," he smiled at her. It was soft and innocent. It reminded her of how he looked at her right before the torch went out in the Cave of Lovers all those years ago. "As long as we make it up together, we'll make it work."

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 **Phew! Hope this satisfied you for now! Reviews please! Aang's going to learn blood bending! Should be interesting.**


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